Commuters who use College Park’s Metro station to get from A to B are in for major changes as construction on the Purple Line and a large mixed-use apartment complex ramps up in September. Further, lane closures on Campus Drive are set to take effect by Aug. 26, as students return to class at the University of Maryland.
Starting Sept. 1, 2019, the bus loop on the eastern side of College Park’s Metro station and the large surface parking lot along River Road will be closed to accommodate construction for these projects. Further, the old bike lockers near Bus Bay F at the station will be removed as part of the work.
As a result of the closure of the bus loop, 18 bus routes – specifically the 14, 17, 83, 86, 104, 204, 302, C8, F6, J4, R12 and FDA Shuttle – with stops at the station will have those stops temporarily relocated to River Road.
Despite the removal of the bike lockers, ample secure bicycle storage will remain in place at the station’s Bike & Ride facility – or bike cage – located near the Kiss & Ride underneat the station’s multi-level parking deck.
The surface parking lot at the station will be redeveloped into a large apartment complex.
The bus loop, in a modified form to accommodate the new Purple Line, will eventually be re-opened.
The bike lockers, by this point an anachronism at the bike-cage-equipped station, will not return.