Is the Purple Line Really Good for College Park?

I've been thinking about the transportation mess we have around the area, lately.  It seems that almost anytime I get on RT 1, it is clogged and slow.  Potholes, construction, poorly timed traffic lights.  You name it, RT 1 is a nightmare.

I've also been watching the ICC saga unfold for years. It's due to be completed next year and, if anyone can afford the tolls, it may take some of the burden off area congestion...for awhile. Then, of course, it will be a clogged mess like the Beltway

This all got me thinking about the Purple Line. There is lots of talk about the Purple Line and almost all of it has it coming right through College Park and the University of MD. Above ground.

In fact I saw some interesting and very short videos and artist's rendering on the Maryland Transportation Administration's website of what such a thing would look like. Of course, it looks idyllic. Trees in bloom, very few people and even fewer cars.

But we all know that artists' renderings are meant to instill a sense of, well, artistry.  In reality, there will be hundreds of people walking around, hundreds of cars sharing the road with this new fangled streetcar.

My guess is that even if College Park could withstand the years and years of construction and traffic disruption (psssst! University Parkers. Your coveted Queens Chapel Road may need to be re-opened to through traffic) the Purple Line really wouldn't do that much to relieve the traffic problem.

It may possibly open options for students to seek housing farther away. Greenbelt? Hyattsville? It would certainly be nice to be able to Metro it over to Montgomery County but will it really be a benefit to College Park or the University?