Required Reading: Purple Line delays; Bikeshare Expansion; More shutdown woes

Required Reading is a simple, daily roundup of news coverage relevant to Prince George’s County and its Route 1 communities. In our Jan. 11, 2019, edition: Details of a Capital Bikeshare expansion in Greenbelt; Delays in Purple Line construction; How a government shutdown affects a new Hyattsville distillery, and more stories after the jump:

Purple Line opening delayed at least one year – The Washington Post

Key quote: “The private consortium’s reports don’t say how much it would cost in additional labor, equipment and other expenses to open the line in February 2023. The negotiations have focused on who — the state or team of companies — is to blame for which delays and who should pay to offset them.” Capital Bikeshare plans Greenbelt expansion – Greenbelt News Review

Key quote: “According to the proposal, the five locations being considered in Greenbelt are: Greenbelt Station Parkway and North Center Drive; Breezewood Drive and Cherrywood Lane; Roosevelt Center; Crescent Road and Ridge Road (near the police station), and on Hanover Parkway near Eleanor Roosevelt High School”

Board of Public Works awards state tax system overhaul contract – Prince George’s Sentinel

Key quote: “The comptroller’s office currently uses various systems to collect taxes – one of which is a mainframe business tax-collection system that dates to 1987 and another system for individual income taxes and the sales tax, which began use in 1992.”

A steel-framed box bridge, narrow, suited for pedestrians and cyclists, stretches across a shallow, narrow streambed. In the background, winter has stripped a forest of trees of its leaves. Behind the forest, an apartment high-rise is visible.

Big extension of Little Paint Branch Trail to open soon, link Beltsville to regional trail network

Major construction on an expansion of the Little Paint Branch Trail is expected to be finished later this month, according to Prince George’s County officials. The new extended trail will run for 2.2 miles alongside Cherry Hill Road from the trail’s present-day terminus in Northern College Park near Cherry Hill Road Park. A steel hiker-biker bridge has been built to cross the Little Paint Branch creek. From there it will parallel Cherry Hill Road and cross the Beltway on existing bridges before turning east onto Sellman Road where it hooks up to an existing trail stub at Little Paint Branch Park in Beltsville. 

Robert Patten, trail development program manager at Prince George’s County Parks, praised construction crews for their ability to rapidly make progress on the trail once construction started. In particular, he said the rate of construction was notable because of the heavy rains that have presented obstacles for work, particularly around the streambed where the bridge is built.

“We hope to open the trail in March or April.