Executive Director’s Recommendation Commission Meeting: October 5, 2017

PROJECT Purple Line Crossing – Baltimore- Washington Parkway Baltimore-Washington Pkwy - Highway 410, Maryland SUBMITTED BY United States Department of the Interior National Park Service REVIEW AUTHORITY Federal Projects in the Environs per 40 U.S.C. § 8722(b)(1)

NCPC FILE NUMBER 7917 NCPC MAP FILE NUMBER (38.00)44616 APPLICANT’S REQUEST Approval of preliminary and final site development plans PROPOSED ACTION Approve preliminary and final site development plans ACTION ITEM TYPE Consent Calendar

PROJECT SUMMARY On behalf of the Maryland Transit Authority (MTA), the National Park Service has requested preliminary and final review of site development plans for Baltimore-Washington Parkway (B-W Parkway) property improvements to accommodate the new Purple Line Light Rail Transit (LRT) facility. The new facility will align along the southside of Riverdale Road (Maryland State Route 410), which crosses beneath the B-W Parkway bridges. The Purple Line is planned as a 16-mile, regionally-significant, transit facility between Bethesda, Maryland (Montgomery County) and New Carrollton, Maryland (Prince George’s County), providing needed east-west connectivity between the Metrorail’s Red, Green, and Orange Lines. Project construction within the B-W Parkway area will last for approximately two years, with other periodic construction activity throughout the 2017-2022 construction phase for the entire facility.

KEY INFORMATION • Notable improvements to the B-W Parkway property will include:

o Lengthening the parkway bridge spans (with the addition of new archways); o Constructing a new below-grade gravel stormwater management area; o Sidewalk improvements along the southside of Riverdale Road to meet Americans with

Disabilities Act (ADA) standards; o Replacing existing metal parkway guardrails with more natural-looking safety barriers;

and o New landscaping.

• NPS has coordinated with Federal Transit Administration (FTA) and MTA staff since 2012 to discuss potential avoidance, minimization, and mitigation efforts to Baltimore-Washington Parkway property. Discussions topics included maintaining traffic flow on the

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parkway, maintaining park visitor experience, complementing existing park design elements, reducing the impact to the forest area in the median of the parkway, minimizing effects from construction, and decreasing potential visual impacts to the extent reasonably feasible.

• A group known as the Purple Line Transit Partners (PLTP) will finalize the project design, construct, maintain, and operate the facility on behalf of the Maryland Mass Transit Administration as part of a public-private “P3” partnership. MTA will own the future Purple Line facility.

RECOMMENDATION The Commission: Approves the preliminary and final site development plans for improvements to Baltimore-Washington Parkway property to accommodate the Purple Line Light Rail Transit facility along the southside of Riverdale Road, beneath the B-W Parkway, in Prince George’s County, Maryland.

PROJECT REVIEW TIMELINE

Previous actions

None.

Remaining actions (anticipated)

None.

PROJECT ANALYSIS Executive Summary

The National Park Service has submitted preliminary and final site development plans for the Purple Line facility across Baltimore-Washington Parkway property. NCPC staff has analyzed physical improvements to B-W Parkway property using policies from the Federal Elements of the Comprehensive Plan, determining that the project is generally consistent with the Plan. The National Park Service will remain engaged with the project during the final design, construction, and operation phases of the project based on a Special Use Permit for the activity on Parkway property. Therefore, staff recommends that the Commission recommend approval of the preliminary and final site development plans for improvements to Baltimore-Washington Parkway property to accommodate the Purple Line Light Rail Transit facility along the southside of Riverdale Road, beneath the B-W Parkway, in Prince George’s County, Maryland. Analysis

On behalf of the Maryland Transit Administration (MTA), the Purple Line Transit Partners (PLTP) will construct a new light rail transit (LRT) line adjacent to the southside of Riverdale Road (MD 410) in a dedicated alignment, across Baltimore-Washington Parkway property, consisting of two

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tracks and other site improvements. The new line will cross beneath two lengthened Parkway bridge spans through two new archways (one in each bridge span), in addition to existing arches that currently span across Riverdale Road (see Slide 12). Each new archway will have a concrete, pre-cast shield (four total) overtop, which will match the top bend of each archway to blend in visually on the eastbound and westbound Riverdale Road approaches (Slide 12). The purpose of the shields is to protect Parkway users who might be stuck on the side of the road from the catenary wires below as required by code. The shields will not extend above the bridge railings to maintain natural views from the Parkway to the adjacent landscape. The MTA/PLTP will re-use existing stone from the bridge abutments to maintain the bridge’s current appearance as much as possible. Existing stone will be removed from the bridge, stored during construction in a sheltered location, and re-used to the extent feasible. If additional stone is required, new stone will come from the same source if possible. The current bridges were re-constructed in 1994 and are not considered historic, but were designed to contribute to the Parkway’s natural setting and somewhat replicate the original spans. During construction, the project team will install two, 2-lane temporary bridges, one in each direction, along the outside of each bridge span to maintain traffic flow and avoid impacts to the median vegetation (Slides 9, 10). All four Parkway bridge approaches will temporarily shift to align with the temporary bridge crossings. The project will require approximately 6.7 acres (4.1 vegetated acres and 2.6 roadway acres) of temporary construction easements on Parkway property. In addition to the lengthened Parkway bridge spans, other notable project site improvements include:

• One new 0.28-acre submerged gravel wetland stormwater area (Slides 11, 13); • Tree and vegetation replacement (at agreed upon ratios with NPS) using native and

approved species throughout the project area; • Sidewalk improvements along the southside of Riverdale Road to meet Americans with

Disabilities Act (ADA) standards; • New more natural-looking (stone) safety barriers along the Parkway to replace existing

metal guardrails; and • Relocated slopes related to the access ramp realignments.

The new LRT facility will require permanent use of approximately 0.62 acres (approximately 27,000 square feet) of existing Parkway property from the National Park Service. The property transfer to the State of Maryland will be offset by a State transfer of property to NPS that is of equal value and contiguous to B-W Parkway property (Slide 18). NCPC does not have review authority over the land transfer with its location outside of the District of Columbia based on agency authorities. The project’s Purpose and Need Statement describes the intent of the new Purple Line as follows:

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• Provide faster, more direct, and more reliable east-west transit service connecting the major activity centers in the Purple Line corridor at Bethesda, Silver Spring, Takoma/Langley Park, College Park, and New Carrollton;

• Provide better connections to Metrorail services located in the corridor; and • Improve connectivity to the communities in the corridor located between the Metrorail

lines. The project’s Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) review includes several related technical studies that pertain to projected future ridership, social effects and land use planning, and economic effects. The studies supported the project as a higher-quality link in the regional transit system compared to local east-west bus service, which is often slow and unreliable due to existing roadway congestion. As a link on the future Purple line facility, the project appears to be consistent with the following Transportation Element policies:

• Capacity and service expansion of the regional Metrorail and Metrobus systems and other regional and local transit services, particularly where these services will support existing or planned federal facilities;

• Encourage ridesharing, biking, walking, transit, and other non-SOV modes of transportation for federal commuters and visitors;

• Support multimodal connections and transportation alternatives in the regional system; • Extend the transit system’s reach into developed, but underserved areas of the region.

Regarding the project’s proposed tree/vegetation removal on Parkway property, the MTA/PLTP developed landscape plans with tree and vegetation replacement (at agreed upon ratios in consultation with NPS) using native and approved species. In total, the project will plant six new larger trees, in addition to 0.34 acres of trees/shrubs (to replace 0.08-acres of tree/vegetation removal), resulting in a net increase of 0.26-acres of trees/vegetation on NPS property. Project plans adhere to the April 2006 NPS, National Capital Region Guidelines for Tree Preservation. Lastly, MTA/PLTP will conduct an extensive survey to identify invasive plants and undertake a two-year invasive species removal program. Based on the submission, the project appears to be consistent with the following Federal Environment policies: • When tree removal is necessary, trees should be replaced to prevent a net tree loss to the

project area; and • Encourage the use of native plant species and remove invasive plants where appropriate.

The National Park Service has entered into a Programmatic Agreement that stipulates MTA/PLTP commitments to implement and fund various measures related to mitigating and minimizing the project’s impact to the historic character of the Baltimore-Washington Parkway. Notable commitments include:

• Development and implementation of construction protection plans to avoid damage to historic property;

• Avoidance of adverse effects to the historic Parkway through the use of design and positive protection measures involving guiding principles of design and design review procedures;

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• Use of context sensitive design practices and consultation with NPS, selection of materials

that are consistent with existing materials, and enhancement of the aesthetic and historic qualities of the Parkway in a manner that NPS approves;

• Development and implementation of a web-based map of historic properties including the historic Parkway;

• Additional consultation, as warranted, with the Maryland State Historic Preservation Office regarding design modifications or ancillary activities including, but not limited to, construction staging areas and environmental mitigation, or other actions; and

• Ongoing coordination and oversight involving NPS. Based on the submission materials, the project appears to be consistent with the following NCPC Parks and Open Space Element policies:

• Maintain parkways as scenic landscape corridors, and protect their historic aspects; and • Where transportation system impacts are unavoidable, require action to minimize and

mitigate these impacts to maintain parkway characteristics.

CONFORMANCE TO EXISTING PLANS, POLICIES AND RELATED GUIDANCE Comprehensive Plan for the National Capital

The proposed project is consistent with multiple policies from the Transportation, Federal Environment, and Parks and Open Space Elements as previous highlighted. National Historic Preservation Act

In compliance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act, the FTA, MTA, Maryland Historic Trust (MHT), and NPS have entered into a Programmatic Agreement to mitigate all adverse effects related to the project within their respective areas of jurisdiction. For federal projects outside of the District of Columbia, NCPC does not have a separate review authority under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Plan. National Environmental Policy Act

The FTA conducted an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the project, and issued a Record of Decision (ROD) on March 19, 2014. Based on the FTA EIS, the NPS issued its own ROD for project improvements to B-W Parkway property on July 16, 2014. Mitigation and minimization measures specified in the ROD pertain to the following areas:

• Maintenance of Traffic • Permanent Replacement of Bridge Structures • Landscaping and Invasive Species • Protected and Sensitive Resources • Design Elements • Land Exchange Agreement • Commitments in the Section 106 Programmatic Agreement • Best Management Practices.

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For federal projects outside of the District of Columbia, NCPC does not have a separate review authority under NEPA.

CONSULTATION The project underwent extensive consultation with multiple neighborhood groups, federal agencies, state agencies, county agencies, and interest groups as part of the NEPA, Section 106, and Section 4(f) processes. From the initiation of the EIS process that culminated in the NPS ROD, public involvement had an essential role in the design and planning of the Purple Line. As a cooperating agency, and in accordance with the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) regulations (40 CFR 1501.6), NPS actively participated in the project’s NEPA process. ONLINE REFERENCE

The following supporting documents for this project are available online:

• Construction Documents • Project Drawings • Project Synopsis • Record of Decision (ROD) • Submission Letter

Prepared by Michael Weil 09/28/2017

POWERPOINT (ATTACHED)

Project # 7917

Purple Line Light Rail Transit Facility Baltimore-Washington Parkway Crossing (State Route 410)

Prince George’s County, Maryland

_______________

Submitted by the United States Department of the Interior / National Park Service

Preliminary and Final Development Plans

Project Synopsis

2

Project Information

Project Summary:

On behalf of the Maryland Transit Authority (MTA), the National Park Service has requested preliminary and final review of the site development plans

for improvements made to the Baltimore-Washington Parkway (B-W Parkway) and federal property along the Parkway to accommodate the Purple

Line light rail transit (LRT) facility crossing. The alignment is situated along the south-side of Maryland State Route 410, which crosses beneath the B-

W Parkway. Major improvements will include expansion of the bridge spans over Route 410. with protective horizontal “shields” extending out from the

sides of the bridge to protect against the overhead catenary wires. In addition, there will be a rectangular, 16,000 square foot linear property transfer

from the NPS to the State, which will be compensated by an equally-valued piece of property (located adjacent to the B-W Parkway property) to be

transferred from the State to NPS at some point in the future.

The overall project a 16-mile, regionally-significant, transit facility between Bethesda, Maryland (Montgomery County) and New Carrollton (Prince

George’s County), providing needed east-west connectivity between the Metrorail’s Red, Orange, and Green Lines. On behalf of the MTA, the Purple

Line Project Team, a public-private partnership, is managing the construction, maintenance, and operation of the system, in coordination with the

Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA), Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission (M-NCPPC), Maryland State

Highway Administration, the National Park Service, Montgomery County, and Prince George’s County. Project construction is scheduled for 2017-2022,

with start of service anticipated in 2022.

Commission meeting date: October 5, 2017

NCPC review authority: Advisory – Federal Project in the Environs (40 U.S.C. § 8722 (b)(1))

Applicant request: Preliminary and final approval of site development plans

Delegated / consent / open / executive session: Consent Calendar

NCPC Review Officer: Michael Weil

NCPC File number: 7917

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District of

Columbia

Prince George’s

County

Montgomery

County

B-W Parkway crossing

Project Location

4

Metrorail Connection

5

Purple Line Vehicle

6

Random Purple Line Renderings (not related to B-W Parkway)

7

B-W Crossing – Existing Conditions

8

B-W Crossing – Existing Conditions

9

Temporary Bridges (FEIS Concept Plan)

10

Temporary Bridges Plan

11

Illustrative Plan

12

Illustrative Elevation

13

Construction Plan

new stormwater management area new Purple Line

alignment

B-W Parkway

Riverdale Road

14

Construction Elevations (northbound parkway)

15

Construction Elevation (northbound parkway)

16

Construction Elevations (southbound parkway)

17

Construction Elevation (southbound parkway)

18

Land Transfer