November 8th public scoping for Washington Monument security
November/03/2010 01:53 AM Filed in: Washington Monument | Mall security
Dear Coalition Friends:
The public scoping meeting to discuss new permanent security facilities for the Washington Monument takes place November 8th. See details below. According to reports in the Northwest Current and Washington City Paper, options include four underground structures approached by ramps (somewhat reminiscent of the new Capitol visitors center) and one above ground option. Click on the WCP link in the story below to see illustrations of some of the options.
Maybe a simple redesign of the magnetometer's housing is in order. Sure, the boxy shed is unattractive. But the single all-glass option proposed by NPS is not a realistic alternative at all, since NPS officials state that screeners must not be visible from outside.
What other above-ground options would be able to accommodate the screening required for the 28-person capacity elevator? Do the Monument's 15-foot-thick solid masonry walls allow innovative security approaches not acceptable at other public buildings? Readers, are any of you engineers, security experts, or designers with creative ideas?
What are the exact functions of this new facility? What square footage is needed for each of those functions? What else besides security will be included?
At the November 8th public meeting, we will seek answers to these and a number of other questions, namely, how does this latest proposal resolve concerns that caused Congress to withdraw funding in 2003: criticism by the public, media, and Congress of cost; the symbolism of entering the great obelisk via an underground passage; and potential geotechnical threat to the Monument's foundation? The geotechnical studies from the 1930s and 2002 upon which the NPS says it relies (as reported in the Northwest Current) were cause enough for Congress to withhold funding for earlier projects. What has changed?
The public scoping meeting will be held by the NPS on November 8, 2010 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the NPS National Capital Region Headquarters, 1100 Ohio Drive SW, Washington, DC. An open house, from 5:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., will be followed by a presentation and discussion.
Unfortunately, there is no nearby Metro stop or public transportation to these NPS offices, but there is a large parking lot.
Click here to read the Northwest Current.
Oct. 29, 2010
As we seem to be reminded of fairly often these days, places of national significance tend to attract angry people with weapons. And at the moment, all that stands between the Washington Monument and the terrorists are some perimeter security bollards and a boxy, temporary screening facility–the National Park Service tried to build a permanent one back in 2002, but the design would have forced visitors to enter through a building 400 feet away from the Monument and walk through an underground tunnel to get there, and the idea was roundly rejected.
Now, the Park Service is trying again. The stubbornly dead-tree Northwest Current reports this week that five options for a new screening facility were presented to the Commission on Fine Arts, and will come up at the National Capital Planning Commission next week before a public scoping session on November 8. Four of the options would dig a security facility into the mound sloping up to the monument, accessed by ramps and pathways, and require the Monument’s elevator to be extended downward to meet visitors. The last option, a glass cube set on top of the mound, is probably off the table because screening must take place out of view of the general public.
Here are sketches of the four likely options, kindly supplied by architect Beyer Blinder Belle.
The public scoping meeting to discuss new permanent security facilities for the Washington Monument takes place November 8th. See details below. According to reports in the Northwest Current and Washington City Paper, options include four underground structures approached by ramps (somewhat reminiscent of the new Capitol visitors center) and one above ground option. Click on the WCP link in the story below to see illustrations of some of the options.
Maybe a simple redesign of the magnetometer's housing is in order. Sure, the boxy shed is unattractive. But the single all-glass option proposed by NPS is not a realistic alternative at all, since NPS officials state that screeners must not be visible from outside.
What other above-ground options would be able to accommodate the screening required for the 28-person capacity elevator? Do the Monument's 15-foot-thick solid masonry walls allow innovative security approaches not acceptable at other public buildings? Readers, are any of you engineers, security experts, or designers with creative ideas?
What are the exact functions of this new facility? What square footage is needed for each of those functions? What else besides security will be included?
At the November 8th public meeting, we will seek answers to these and a number of other questions, namely, how does this latest proposal resolve concerns that caused Congress to withdraw funding in 2003: criticism by the public, media, and Congress of cost; the symbolism of entering the great obelisk via an underground passage; and potential geotechnical threat to the Monument's foundation? The geotechnical studies from the 1930s and 2002 upon which the NPS says it relies (as reported in the Northwest Current) were cause enough for Congress to withhold funding for earlier projects. What has changed?
The public scoping meeting will be held by the NPS on November 8, 2010 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the NPS National Capital Region Headquarters, 1100 Ohio Drive SW, Washington, DC. An open house, from 5:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., will be followed by a presentation and discussion.
Unfortunately, there is no nearby Metro stop or public transportation to these NPS offices, but there is a large parking lot.
Click here to read the Northwest Current.
* * *
WASHINGTON CITY PAPER
How to Secure the Washington Monument? Four Thoughts.
By Lydia DePillisOct. 29, 2010
As we seem to be reminded of fairly often these days, places of national significance tend to attract angry people with weapons. And at the moment, all that stands between the Washington Monument and the terrorists are some perimeter security bollards and a boxy, temporary screening facility–the National Park Service tried to build a permanent one back in 2002, but the design would have forced visitors to enter through a building 400 feet away from the Monument and walk through an underground tunnel to get there, and the idea was roundly rejected.
Now, the Park Service is trying again. The stubbornly dead-tree Northwest Current reports this week that five options for a new screening facility were presented to the Commission on Fine Arts, and will come up at the National Capital Planning Commission next week before a public scoping session on November 8. Four of the options would dig a security facility into the mound sloping up to the monument, accessed by ramps and pathways, and require the Monument’s elevator to be extended downward to meet visitors. The last option, a glass cube set on top of the mound, is probably off the table because screening must take place out of view of the general public.
Here are sketches of the four likely options, kindly supplied by architect Beyer Blinder Belle.