Getting around the Mall after Tourmobile - Happy New Year!
December/28/2011 06:34 PM Filed in: Mall enhancements
Dear Coalition Friends:
The Washington Post has joined the call for better and more circulation options on the National Mall and gives the National Coalition to Save Our Mall credit for our long advocacy on this topic. See the editorial below. Scroll down to read also two related letters to the editor and a resolution from Post columnist Mike DeBonis.
As you make end of year contributions, please consider sending a donation to the National Coalition to Save Our Mall. Donations are fully tax deductible. You can pay via Pay Pal at http://www.savethemall.org/about/contrib.html or by mail to: P.O. Box 4709, Rockville, MD 20849.
Happy New Year!
Judy
jfeldman@savethemall.org
* * *
THE WASHINGTON POST
December 17, 2011
Getting around the Mall after Tourmobile
Editorial
FOR DECADES, ABOUT the only way to get around the Mall, other than by foot, was via the blue-and-white trams of the Tourmobile . At $32 a person, it was not a cheap mode of transportation, particularly if one had no interest in the interpretative audio presentation. We hope Tourmobile’s recent demise means the National Park Service will finally get serious about providing a variety of transportation options to visitors.
Tourmobile, which ceased operation at the end of October amid financial difficulties, had been allowed to operate under an exclusive contract that barred other buses, bike-sharing and pedicabs. It was an irrational arrangement that actually made it harder to get to many of the Mall’s museums and monuments, and it was rightly protested by the National Coalition to Save Our Mall and others who wanted effective and low-cost alternatives.
Those protests seem be paying off. And that is likely to result in a more hospitable Mall. Preserving the integrity of the Mall and visitor convenience are not mutually exclusive goals.
The park service, for example, is now considering Capital Bikeshare stations for the Mall. Earlier this year it rejected participating in the region’s increasingly popular bike program; “It would destroy the nature of what makes the National Mall an American institution in the first place” was the warped view expressed at the time. Thankfully, smarter thinking prevailed and the service is currently collecting public comment on the proposed location of five stations on the Mall.
The park service is also looking for a tour operator to temporarily fill the void left by the sudden departure of Tourmobile. The rush to complete a contract has prompted worries from the Save Our Mall coalition that the park service may be headed for a deal not much different from the monopoly Tourmobile enjoyed. It fired off a letter expressing its concerns to the acting inspector general of the Interior Department.
But park officials stressed they are undertaking temporary measures to deal with an situation that is almost an emergency. Imagine, as they rather convincingly told us, Cherry Blossom season without a tour system in place. Then too, there is the difficulty of visiting Arlington National Cemetery without a tour operator.
Six bidders responded to the solicitation, and it’s possible more than one contract would be awarded. Importantly, the draft contract contains language making clear this would be a nonexclusive arrangement, as the City Paper’s Lydia DePillis reported.
The contract is not to exceed three years, during which the park service will develop a permanent plan for Mall transportation. Park officials say all possibilities are on the table and the process will include the public.
* * *
A speedier tour of the Mall
Published: December 23
There are a number of tour operators who could provide all-day, hop-on/hop-off tours of the Mall, and I support a competition among the best-qualified of them to operate a National Park Service-sponsored tour service [“Getting there,” editorial, Dec. 17]. In this manner, the Park Service would be able to ensure that tours visited all of the monument areas, including Arlington National Cemetery, and that the site descriptions were accurate.
But where is it written that the Park Service should be responsible for all transportation around the Mall? As a volunteer on the Mall, it has been my experience that many visitors do not need an expensive, all-day tour. Some are in town for only a few hours and want to visit just two or three of the major monuments and memorials. I have always been embarrassed to tell them that, other than an all-day tour, an expensive cab ride or a subway ride from site to site, there is no public transportation to speak of on the Mall.
While my wife and I are not world travelers, we have enjoyed the relative ease of touring London and Paris on their subways and city buses. Getting around the Mall easily is simply not possible. A new Circulator bus or similar service along the Mall would do a lot to improve the image of our city to visitors and would make getting around “America’s Front Yard” much easier.
Dan Kirby, Arlington
* * *
Lack of transit options put Mall sites at a distance
Published: December 27
Regarding Dan Kirby’s Dec. 24 letter, “A speedier tour of the Mall”:
My niece was visiting recently, and she wanted to see several buildings and monuments in Washington. We took the Metro to the Capitol, the Library of Congress and the U.S. Botanic Garden. This required a lot of walking, and the day was a bit windy and cold. The next part of our trip was to the carousel on the Mall, which she rode 40 years ago as a child.
We suddenly realized that there was no easy way to get there, and it was shocking to feel stranded in the middle of the District. I was uncertain about the Metrobus schedule and routes, and we would have had to walk quite a distance to get to a bus. We did not want to take a taxi, so we walked.
In the end, my niece dropped her plan to see the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial, the Lincoln Memorial, the Jefferson Memorial, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and the other memorials in that area of the Mall. It felt strange, and hard to believe, that we could not visit these memorials because we did not want to ride one of the hop-on/hop-off sightseeing buses.
Tourists shouldn’t be forced to take expensive sightseeing buses to see D.C. attractions. In hindsight, I suppose we could have taken a cab to see the memorials, but that would have still left us with quite a hike between some of the memorials. There should be another way for tourists to easily and inexpensively get around the Mall. What a shame.
Paulette Kaplan, Fairfax City
* * *
Dear D.C. newsmakers and officials: Try these resolutions
By Mike DeBonis, Published: December 27
For many prominent Washingtonians — especially those in the District government — 2011 was a year to forget. Next week, we start anew. Herewith, a list of potential New Year’s resolutions for a handful of D.C. figures and institutions:...
...The National Park Service: Get a Capital Bikeshare membership. The federal overseer of the District’s “monumental core” and much of its parkland has been famously obstreperous in meeting the needs of the people who live in this city. Consider Tourmobile, the blue-and-white trams that were great for tourists who wanted to pay $20 or more for guided tours of the Mall and useless to everyone else. But Tourmobile’s monopoly contract kept everything else out. After Tourmobile suddenly folded this fall, the Park Service has responded by proposing Bikeshare stations and other, more universally useful forms of transportation around the Mall — although Park Police don’t seem to be much pleased by the new fleet of pedicabs.
The Washington Post has joined the call for better and more circulation options on the National Mall and gives the National Coalition to Save Our Mall credit for our long advocacy on this topic. See the editorial below. Scroll down to read also two related letters to the editor and a resolution from Post columnist Mike DeBonis.
As you make end of year contributions, please consider sending a donation to the National Coalition to Save Our Mall. Donations are fully tax deductible. You can pay via Pay Pal at http://www.savethemall.org/about/contrib.html or by mail to: P.O. Box 4709, Rockville, MD 20849.
Happy New Year!
Judy
jfeldman@savethemall.org
* * *
THE WASHINGTON POST
December 17, 2011
Getting around the Mall after Tourmobile
Editorial
FOR DECADES, ABOUT the only way to get around the Mall, other than by foot, was via the blue-and-white trams of the Tourmobile . At $32 a person, it was not a cheap mode of transportation, particularly if one had no interest in the interpretative audio presentation. We hope Tourmobile’s recent demise means the National Park Service will finally get serious about providing a variety of transportation options to visitors.
Tourmobile, which ceased operation at the end of October amid financial difficulties, had been allowed to operate under an exclusive contract that barred other buses, bike-sharing and pedicabs. It was an irrational arrangement that actually made it harder to get to many of the Mall’s museums and monuments, and it was rightly protested by the National Coalition to Save Our Mall and others who wanted effective and low-cost alternatives.
Those protests seem be paying off. And that is likely to result in a more hospitable Mall. Preserving the integrity of the Mall and visitor convenience are not mutually exclusive goals.
The park service, for example, is now considering Capital Bikeshare stations for the Mall. Earlier this year it rejected participating in the region’s increasingly popular bike program; “It would destroy the nature of what makes the National Mall an American institution in the first place” was the warped view expressed at the time. Thankfully, smarter thinking prevailed and the service is currently collecting public comment on the proposed location of five stations on the Mall.
The park service is also looking for a tour operator to temporarily fill the void left by the sudden departure of Tourmobile. The rush to complete a contract has prompted worries from the Save Our Mall coalition that the park service may be headed for a deal not much different from the monopoly Tourmobile enjoyed. It fired off a letter expressing its concerns to the acting inspector general of the Interior Department.
But park officials stressed they are undertaking temporary measures to deal with an situation that is almost an emergency. Imagine, as they rather convincingly told us, Cherry Blossom season without a tour system in place. Then too, there is the difficulty of visiting Arlington National Cemetery without a tour operator.
Six bidders responded to the solicitation, and it’s possible more than one contract would be awarded. Importantly, the draft contract contains language making clear this would be a nonexclusive arrangement, as the City Paper’s Lydia DePillis reported.
The contract is not to exceed three years, during which the park service will develop a permanent plan for Mall transportation. Park officials say all possibilities are on the table and the process will include the public.
* * *
A speedier tour of the Mall
Published: December 23
There are a number of tour operators who could provide all-day, hop-on/hop-off tours of the Mall, and I support a competition among the best-qualified of them to operate a National Park Service-sponsored tour service [“Getting there,” editorial, Dec. 17]. In this manner, the Park Service would be able to ensure that tours visited all of the monument areas, including Arlington National Cemetery, and that the site descriptions were accurate.
But where is it written that the Park Service should be responsible for all transportation around the Mall? As a volunteer on the Mall, it has been my experience that many visitors do not need an expensive, all-day tour. Some are in town for only a few hours and want to visit just two or three of the major monuments and memorials. I have always been embarrassed to tell them that, other than an all-day tour, an expensive cab ride or a subway ride from site to site, there is no public transportation to speak of on the Mall.
While my wife and I are not world travelers, we have enjoyed the relative ease of touring London and Paris on their subways and city buses. Getting around the Mall easily is simply not possible. A new Circulator bus or similar service along the Mall would do a lot to improve the image of our city to visitors and would make getting around “America’s Front Yard” much easier.
Dan Kirby, Arlington
* * *
Lack of transit options put Mall sites at a distance
Published: December 27
Regarding Dan Kirby’s Dec. 24 letter, “A speedier tour of the Mall”:
My niece was visiting recently, and she wanted to see several buildings and monuments in Washington. We took the Metro to the Capitol, the Library of Congress and the U.S. Botanic Garden. This required a lot of walking, and the day was a bit windy and cold. The next part of our trip was to the carousel on the Mall, which she rode 40 years ago as a child.
We suddenly realized that there was no easy way to get there, and it was shocking to feel stranded in the middle of the District. I was uncertain about the Metrobus schedule and routes, and we would have had to walk quite a distance to get to a bus. We did not want to take a taxi, so we walked.
In the end, my niece dropped her plan to see the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial, the Lincoln Memorial, the Jefferson Memorial, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and the other memorials in that area of the Mall. It felt strange, and hard to believe, that we could not visit these memorials because we did not want to ride one of the hop-on/hop-off sightseeing buses.
Tourists shouldn’t be forced to take expensive sightseeing buses to see D.C. attractions. In hindsight, I suppose we could have taken a cab to see the memorials, but that would have still left us with quite a hike between some of the memorials. There should be another way for tourists to easily and inexpensively get around the Mall. What a shame.
Paulette Kaplan, Fairfax City
* * *
Dear D.C. newsmakers and officials: Try these resolutions
By Mike DeBonis, Published: December 27
For many prominent Washingtonians — especially those in the District government — 2011 was a year to forget. Next week, we start anew. Herewith, a list of potential New Year’s resolutions for a handful of D.C. figures and institutions:...
...The National Park Service: Get a Capital Bikeshare membership. The federal overseer of the District’s “monumental core” and much of its parkland has been famously obstreperous in meeting the needs of the people who live in this city. Consider Tourmobile, the blue-and-white trams that were great for tourists who wanted to pay $20 or more for guided tours of the Mall and useless to everyone else. But Tourmobile’s monopoly contract kept everything else out. After Tourmobile suddenly folded this fall, the Park Service has responded by proposing Bikeshare stations and other, more universally useful forms of transportation around the Mall — although Park Police don’t seem to be much pleased by the new fleet of pedicabs.