Governor Larry Hogan DO NOT CUT ANY TREES, close the Capital Crescent Trail or allow any other irreversible environmental harm until the court makes its final ruling on the Purple Line.  

The haste with which MTA and its Purple Line contractor announced that they are closing the Trail next Tuesday September 5th for 5 years is shocking and unwarranted. Students will return on their first day of school only to find their access cut off without a safe alternative, as will commuters, walkers, wounded warriors and other users of the Trail. 

The 48 acres of forest marked for immediate clear-cutting harbor owls, woodpeckers and migratory songbirds and protect our streams and water quality. The story is the same all along the path of the Purple Line, affecting residents, students, commuters, small businesses, and our environment. 

We know MTA can do better for the communities affected. A brief pause on the closure will allow for the legal process to come to conclusion, and for MTA to fulfill its commitments to plan safe alternatives for Trail users and for all communities along the Purple Line.