Public-private partnerships

Regional Memo: Hogan’s Purple Line choice could paint him as ideologue - The Washington Post

Then there's always the possibility that Gov. Hogan is right, even if it's for the wrong reason. Why should federal, state and local $ be spent on the Purple Line public-private partnership when the public doesn't know why the Silver Spring Transit Center public-private partnership went so poorly? We know that the SSTC is a "monumental debacle"; but, we don't know why it's such a "monumental debacle". We know that Montgomery County chose private builder Foulger Pratt, private engineer Parsons Brinckerhoff and private inspector Balter Co. non-competitively, while private companies are selected competitively for most public works projects; but, we don't know why Montgomery County selected them. Shouldn't we? After all, whether the Silver Spring Transit Center had cost $20 million (which is what the County executive told the public 20 years ago, along with it being open in 1998) or it ends up costing $200 million, wasting public funds (federal, state & local) is wasting public funds. It's the same for the Purple Line--whether it costs $2.45 billion or $1.45 billion (which would be 10 times what the "monumental debacle" SSTC has cost the public to date), wasting public funds is wasting public funds. ... Do the right thing, Gov. Hogan, even if it's for the "wrong" reason. Hold off on approving the Purple Line public-private partnership until we know why the Silver Spring Transit Center public-private partnership turned out to be such a "monumental debacle".

Will Gov. Hogan be branded an ideologue for doing the right thing (even if it's for the "wrong" reason)? Or will his legacy be that of just another politician who reneges on his campaign promises?

Time will tell.

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Md. transportation chief reportedly backs Purple Line if cost is lowered - The Washington Post

"Regardless of how many billions of $ that the public-private partnership Purple Line costs, it shouldn't be approved until taxpayers get some answers on the "monumental debacle" Silver Spring Transit Center public-private partnership. For example, why did Montgomery County non-competitively choose private builder Foulger Pratt, private engineer Parsons Brinckerhoff and private inspector Balter Co. to provide services for the SSTC, when private companies are selected competitively for most public works projects? Wasting public funds (federal, state & local) is wasting public funds, whether it's in the tens of millions or billions."

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The Silver Spring Transit Center public-private partnership is a "monumental debacle". Will the Purple Line public-private partnership be the the next public-private partnership debacle? If so, the Purple Line debacle will cost taxpayers a LOT more. 

The Silver Spring Transit Center is severely flawed and grossly overdue and overbudget. Twenty years ago Montgomery County MD's county executive said that the SSTC would cost taxpayers $20 million, and be complete in 1998. At this point the price tag exceeds $140 million, and the Paul S. Sarbanes Silver Spring Transit Center still hasn't opened for business. 

The projected cost for the Purple Line public-private partnership is $2.45 BILLION! Talk about an expensive mistake for taxpayers! And, what's our excuse? There is none! --not with the lessons from the unfinished Silver Spring Transit Center "monumental debacle" staring at us!

Silver Spring Transit Center Offers Lessons for Purple Line | Montgomery County Republican Party

"So what transportation design firm was responsible for the Silver Spring Transit Center’s flawed design, especially the failure to require the necessary extra support? Parsons Brinckerhoff.

(IMHO, even greater than Parsons Brinckerhoff's failure to design beams to withstand all design forces, i.e. torsion, is Parsons Brinckerhoff's failure to provide for any expansion joints. WMATA design and construction standards require expansion joints to be located no farther apart than every 100 feet. The 315 ft. wide by 580 ft. long SSTC has none! Of course slabs, beams, girders and columns are cracked!!! What else would you expect?!? I expect the concrete to keep cracking in the future, making the SSTC a costly operational and maintenance nightmare--not to mention safety concerns!)

And what engineering firm did the state contract with to furnish for ridership and other financial projections being used to justify the construction of Purple Line? Parsons Brinckerhoff.

Earlier this year, the state’s Office of Legislative Audits found that Maryland Transit Administration had failed to verify the accuracy of millions of dollars in contractor-submitted architectural and engineering costs for the Red and Purple light rail lines. And which company is a lead part of a joint venture team handling both engineering for the Red Line and program management for the Purple Line? Parsons Brinckerhoff.

The Purple Line’s proponents’ very rosy estimates of 69,000 daily trips deserve considerable scrutiny. Transit ridership is a function of population and job densities. New Jersey’s Hudson-Bergen light rail, for example, serves an area that has four times the population density of the Purple Line and a job center with 123,000 jobs, far more than any point on the Purple Line. Yet the Hudson-Bergen line carries only 44,000 trips a day.

Even at the 69,000 traffic projections, the overwhelming majority of projected Purple Line riders already use other mass transit. In fact, given light rail’s slow speed and uncertain fare box requirements, existing transit connections may remain the preferable alternative for transit riders. Should the ridership projections fall short, billions could be spent without any increase of mass transit ridership.

So when County Executive Ike Leggett meets Maryland Transportation Secretary Rahn, one question worth asking is, “County Executive, based on your past experience with Parsons Brinckerhoff, just how much confident should we be in their Purple Line projections?”

Hmmmmm... interesting... nice reporting! (better than the news media--print, TV, radio, internet--who have been reporting on this story for more than two years!) 

What else (besides Parsons Brinckerhoff) does the Purple Line have in common with the "monumental disaster" Silver Spring Transit Center? They're BOTH public-private partnerships. In BOTH public-private partnerships private firm Parsons Brinckerhoff was selected non-competitively to provide their services, while, for most public works projects, private firms are selected in open competition with other private firms for their services. Hmmmmm...  Are these public-private partners (Parsons Brinckerhoff and MD state and local government) too cozy? From the other "public" perspective (taxpayers), it appears that they are.

Silver Spring Transit Center
Paul S. Sarbanes Transit Center
Montgomery County MD
public-private partnership
Federal Transit Administration (FTA)
Maryland Transit Administration (MTA)
WMATA
Purple Line
Gov. Hogan