Report A Comment

http://www.actfortransit.org/archives/reports_and_other/AdamsLetter.pdf

On Dec. 8, 1988, the County Council voted for a $10 million  emergency appropriation for the acquisition of the Georgetown  Branch right-of-way. I argued that the purchase was justified for  recreational purposes whether or not we ever build a rail line, but a number of my colleagues disagreed. I seriously doubt there was a majority willing to vote to buy the land in the absence of the rail proposal. 

Six years later, rail supporters and opponents on the council were  deadlocked on the issue of allowing an interim trail on the portion of the right-of-way east of Bethesda. Pro-rail advocates lobbied me ferociously to oppose the interim trail. They argued that once the right-of-way became a trail only, even one labeled interim, it would not be possible to gain approval of the planned rail-trail combination. I felt strongly that we should not deny public use of this resource while waiting for a final decision on the rail. I said at the time that public officials should have the courage and confidence to do the right thing in the mid-1990s by allowing an interim trail and again later when it came time to vote for the rail-trail plan. 

No good deed goes unpunished