Some community members and local officials are urging the Maryland Transit Administration (MTA) to reconsider Purple Line plans to place the Riverdale Park station in Prince George’s County atop a 26-foot tall concrete wall. The activists fear that the wall will split a striving commercial district, reports the Washington Post.

MTA amended the Purple Line design last year to replace a bridge structure with the wall, which MTA officials report saves the project $5-6 million. The change is one among 41 that the state made to the original Purple Line plans to cut costs. According to the Washington Post,

State officials say the cost-cutting measure was needed to move the $5.6 billion project forward. But the changes have ignited an outcry among residents and local elected officials who view the 500-foot-long, 47-foot-wide wall as an unacceptable alternative and a threat to the area’s revitalization efforts.

A group of business and civic leaders have gathered more than 600 signatures on a petition against the plans for the wall. MTA officials have said that the design is not final and may change, subject to funding.

Previous, recent Conduit Street coverage on the Purple Line:

Purple Line Shows Federal Government Remains Viable Infrastructure Funding Partner