Evening star., 1945-11-25
Hearing Tuesday
ToWeighCounty
Bus Rerouting
Commission TO Get
Opposing Views on
Prince Georges Issue
BY J. B. ZATMAN.

More than a score of Prince
Georges County residents, includ-
ing businessmen, civic leaders and
two officials, will appear before the
Public Service Commis-
sion in Baltimore at 1890 am,
Tuesday to present their views on
the controversial proposal to reroute
Capital Transit Co. facilities serv-
ing the county.
A petition for approval was SUBJ
mitted to the commission last month
by the county Independent Trade
Association which formulated the
plan with the aid of transit COM
pany representatives. Features Of
the plan are:
l. Establishment of high speed
street car service between Branch
vile and downtown Washington,
with shuttle service from Branch
vile to Beltsville.
2. Establishment of bus service
from College Park to the Prince
Georges General Hospital near
Cheverly.
3. Substitution of shuttle serv-
ice between Greenbelt and the pro-
posed high-speed Branchville street,
car line for the present Greenbelt-
Mount Rainier bus line.
Calls for Several Reroutings.
4. Crosstown bus service between
Mount Rainier and Queens Chapel
and Ager roads.
5. Recruiting of the present East
Riverdale and Cheverly bus lines
TO end at the Mount Rainier term
inal, where connection may be made
with street cars travelling along
Rhode Island avenue to Washing
ton and with buses which would 60
along Eastern avenue to Bladens-
burg road, thence to Seventeenth
street and Pennsylvania avenue Sc.
6. Recruiting of Hyattsville and
College Park buses to end at the
Mount Rainier Terminal, where
connection may be made with shuttle
lines to the two communities.
Proponents of the plan claim it
would directly benefit persons using
public transportation facilities, as
well as to county business interests:
would increase property values, and
aid in the orderly pattern of future
county growth
They point out that there is now
no public transportation to the hos
pltal and none between Cheverlv
and East Riverdale and Mount
Rainier, or from Queens Chapel and
Ager roads to Mount Rainier.
Answer Contention of DELAYS.
According to Charles T. Hartley.
trade association president, the plan
would set up an integrated trans
portation system for the county
instead of the mess we have had
out here for many years"
In response to charges that the
Mount Rainier Terminal would be
overcrowded, resulting in delav to
passengers transferring to other
buses and streetcars. Mayor Harry
A. L. Barker of Riverdale, chairman
OF the committee in charge of the
proposal, pointed out that the Mayor
and Council of Mount Rainier have
approved the plan.
The delay caused persons trans
1errlng from East Riverdale and
Cheverly buses to other facilities
would not exceed three minutes"
Mayor Barker declared.
While admitting that no public
hearings were held on the proposal.
Mayor Barker explained that "it is
extremely difficult to get results from
such hearings" He added that the
plan was drafted by approximately
IS civic leaders and town officials
several months ago after obtaining
the necessary data from the transit
company.
Opposed by Federation.
The principal opposition to the
proposal centered around the use
OF the Mount Rainier terminal by
the various bus lines affected
Walter F. Mulligan, president of
the County Civic Federation, which
has gone on record in opposition to
the plan, said it would create a
'bottleneck." resulting in delays of
as much as Is or 20 minutes for per-
sons desiring to transfer to buses
going to Seventeenth street and
Pennsylvania avenue Sc.
This is practically the same
plan that was proposed in 1910 and
was turned odwn by the Public
Service Commission" he declared.
AT that time, the population of the
county was $4,000. Now. it is in ex-
cess of 10000. If the rerouting
could not be carried on then, it GER
talnly cannot now"
He also asserted that East River.
dale and Cheverly buses going to the
terminal would have to cross the
Barney street bridge between Brent
wood and Cottage City. He said the
bridge is so narrow that two auto
mobiles have difficulty in passing
abreast. Construction of a new
bridge may be one of the projects
to be undertaken under a $1,000. 900
bond issue approved for the county
at the last session of the State Leg
islature.
Mr.. Mulligan also charged that the
transit company used ''undehanded"
methods by getting organizations
not familiar with traffic conditions
IN the county to sponsor the move"
He declared that the real Dur.
pose OF the plan is to set up a sep
arate transit company in the county
and to increase fares. This was de-
ned, however, by E. c. Giddinps as.
slstant to the president OF the Cap
ital Transit Co.
NJ