Is Purple Line in Line with Community?

The University of Maryland and College Park community will , a planned light rail to connect Prince George's and Montgomery counties, at an open house Tuesday night.

Community members will also have the opportunity to provide input on the project, , which is holding a series of four open houses in communities connected by the rail.

The 16-mile Purple Line will connect New Carrollton with Bethesda, and is set to stop in College Park and cut through the University of Maryland. It will connect with the existing Metro stop in College Park.

Its pathway through campus was long debated. University President Wallace Loh said at a town hall meeting in February that UMd. was "," but it wasn't until last summer that the school dropped its opposition to .

supported the Purple Line and the Campus Drive alignment. He is one of a handful of officials who will speak at a press conference Tuesday, coinciding with the open house, and will call for Purple Line funds through new transportation revenues.

Earlier this month, the Federal Transit Administration , which will cost $46 million, paid by the state. Maryland will be eligible for reimbursement from federal funds, .

Construction is estimated to cost $1.9 billion, and MTA is proposing to split the cost evenly between state and federal funding, Kay said.

to carry 60,000 riders a day by 2030, 10 years after it opens. The project is expected to generate more than 27,000 new jobs a year and almost $10 billion in additional federal, state and local revenues.

. Of 92 Patch readers who responded to a poll, 26 percent said they opposed it, while 73.9 percent said they supported it.

See the bottom of this story, where the poll is still open for your response.

• What: Open house to learn about and provide input on Purple Line light rail
  
• Where: Campus Drive, Stamp Student Union, University of Maryland
  
• When: 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 1