NCPC hearing on Jefferson Security / Museum modifications
Dear Coalition Friends:
At its public meeting today, the National Capital Planning Commission will review Mall-related projects. The meeting begins at 12:30 p.m. For more information about the agenda and to read the staff recommendations on individual projects, go to http://www.ncpc.gov.
The National Park Service's proposed temporary office facility for East Potomac Park has been removed by NPS from this month's agenda. We do not know what this means.
NPS will be presenting its latest concept plans for perimeter security for the Jefferson Memorial. This project has been in the works since 2002. The latest plan proposes a combination of piers, walls, and bollards mainly located along the street and sidewalks. It includes the provision of parking for handicapped visitors, spaces for tour bus loading and unloading, and a new kiosk in a new location for food service.
For this project, the National Coalition to Save Our Mall has submitted comments asking NCPC to urge NPS to include also limited short-term public parking to replace the parking lost when the original lot was closed in 2001. We have heard from many people over the past 7 years that they no longer visit the memorial because access is so limited to this remote location which lacks any public transportation. The only parking on Ohio Drive is a considerable walk. For nighttime visitors -- and the Memorial is a favorite for District residents as well as out-of-town visitors -- the NPS parking lot is remote, dark, and scary. Read the 2004 letter in The Washington Post on this matter, copied below.
We support the NCPC staff recommendation to continue to review additional wall and bench alternatives in any new barrier walls at Jefferson.
The NCPC "Consent Agenda" -- projects that the Commission will vote on without staff presentations or public testimony -- includes a modification to the west facade of the National Museum of American History. This proposal, which the Coalition thinks is a good idea, includes inserting a new window opening above the Lower Level cafeteria window (facing 14th Street and the Washington Monument), installing a new door on Level 2 so that museum visitors can more readily access the west terrace, and returning the Alexander Calder stabile “Gwenfritz” to its original location on the east-west axis of the museum’s west lawn.
There also will be "Information Presentation" -- no public comment is taken -- on 2 projects: NCPC's Washington As Commemoration study and a White House Area Transportation Study.
Thursday, December 30, 2004; Page A26
The Jefferson Memorial stands in majestic isolation: part of monumental Washington, but across a lake from the rest of it. The glowing dome at night, the inspiring words inscribed on the walls and the view of a peaceful city can restore a tired spirit. The National Park Service, though, is on track to nearly eliminate this experience.
John Russell Pope designed parking for more than 70 cars and buses into the setting for the memorial, but temporary security measures have cut off access to those spaces. The Park Service now proposes to close those spaces permanently and relocate them a half-mile away.
The Park Service has not studied any alternatives for convenient public parking. We and other preservation groups participating in the public consultation process for this project have proposed a design that would accommodate 20 spaces in excess of those for tour buses and people with disabilities. But the Park Service remains resistant to the idea.
Convenient parking also was eliminated, almost without public comment, at the Washington Monument last year. This is part of a systematic reduction of public accessibility to commemorative Washington. The Park Service needs to be reminded that local residents relate to the parks and memorials differently than other visitors. Without convenient parking, locals won't be able to make occasional visits -- eliminating thousands of positive and inspiring experiences a year for no good reason. We cannot eliminate parking at our monuments and memorials on the Mall without affecting public access and visitations.
GEORGE H.F. OBERLANDER
Bethesda
The writer is a board member of the National Coalition to Save Our Mall.
At its public meeting today, the National Capital Planning Commission will review Mall-related projects. The meeting begins at 12:30 p.m. For more information about the agenda and to read the staff recommendations on individual projects, go to http://www.ncpc.gov.
The National Park Service's proposed temporary office facility for East Potomac Park has been removed by NPS from this month's agenda. We do not know what this means.
NPS will be presenting its latest concept plans for perimeter security for the Jefferson Memorial. This project has been in the works since 2002. The latest plan proposes a combination of piers, walls, and bollards mainly located along the street and sidewalks. It includes the provision of parking for handicapped visitors, spaces for tour bus loading and unloading, and a new kiosk in a new location for food service.
For this project, the National Coalition to Save Our Mall has submitted comments asking NCPC to urge NPS to include also limited short-term public parking to replace the parking lost when the original lot was closed in 2001. We have heard from many people over the past 7 years that they no longer visit the memorial because access is so limited to this remote location which lacks any public transportation. The only parking on Ohio Drive is a considerable walk. For nighttime visitors -- and the Memorial is a favorite for District residents as well as out-of-town visitors -- the NPS parking lot is remote, dark, and scary. Read the 2004 letter in The Washington Post on this matter, copied below.
We support the NCPC staff recommendation to continue to review additional wall and bench alternatives in any new barrier walls at Jefferson.
The NCPC "Consent Agenda" -- projects that the Commission will vote on without staff presentations or public testimony -- includes a modification to the west facade of the National Museum of American History. This proposal, which the Coalition thinks is a good idea, includes inserting a new window opening above the Lower Level cafeteria window (facing 14th Street and the Washington Monument), installing a new door on Level 2 so that museum visitors can more readily access the west terrace, and returning the Alexander Calder stabile “Gwenfritz” to its original location on the east-west axis of the museum’s west lawn.
There also will be "Information Presentation" -- no public comment is taken -- on 2 projects: NCPC's Washington As Commemoration study and a White House Area Transportation Study.
* * *
THE WASHINGTON POST
Increasing Jefferson's Isolation
Thursday, December 30, 2004; Page A26
The Jefferson Memorial stands in majestic isolation: part of monumental Washington, but across a lake from the rest of it. The glowing dome at night, the inspiring words inscribed on the walls and the view of a peaceful city can restore a tired spirit. The National Park Service, though, is on track to nearly eliminate this experience.
John Russell Pope designed parking for more than 70 cars and buses into the setting for the memorial, but temporary security measures have cut off access to those spaces. The Park Service now proposes to close those spaces permanently and relocate them a half-mile away.
The Park Service has not studied any alternatives for convenient public parking. We and other preservation groups participating in the public consultation process for this project have proposed a design that would accommodate 20 spaces in excess of those for tour buses and people with disabilities. But the Park Service remains resistant to the idea.
Convenient parking also was eliminated, almost without public comment, at the Washington Monument last year. This is part of a systematic reduction of public accessibility to commemorative Washington. The Park Service needs to be reminded that local residents relate to the parks and memorials differently than other visitors. Without convenient parking, locals won't be able to make occasional visits -- eliminating thousands of positive and inspiring experiences a year for no good reason. We cannot eliminate parking at our monuments and memorials on the Mall without affecting public access and visitations.
GEORGE H.F. OBERLANDER
Bethesda
The writer is a board member of the National Coalition to Save Our Mall.