In anticipation of the Purple Line’s scheduled opening in 2027, Montgomery County officials are looking at places to build sidewalks near the light rail line. But plans to build sidewalks near the future Takoma-Langley station, on University Boulevard in Takoma Park, have been shelved in part because neighbors say they’re afraid of “stranger danger.”
Staff at the Montgomery County Department of Transportation (MCDOT) identified eight residential streets within a half-mile of the station that were missing sidewalks, then sent information about the proposal to over 150 nearby households. Fewer than half replied, but those who did were mostly against it. According to the letter from Robert Gonzales, Sidewalk Section Chief, of the 73 residents who responded, just 12 supported the sidewalks.
“In the remaining 61 comments, residents heavily opposed the installations,” Gonzales wrote, “expressing concerns about loss of available parking, lack of need, financial loss due to tree and landscaping removals, loss of environmental beauty and the ‘natural feel’ of the community, stranger danger, increased crime, littering, and, most of all, the worsening of stormwater flooding and erosion.”…