NPS Proposes Visitor Screening at Washington Monument
October/21/2010 02:15 PM Filed in: National Park Service | Washington Monument
Dear Coalition Friends:
The National Park Service has posted a notice, copied below, about plans to replace the existing security screening structure at the foot of the Washington Monument with a permanent structure. Since the NPS only sent out the notice Wednesday afternoon, we received it too late to plan to attend or to alert our readers to the public presentation yesterday, October 21st, at the Commission of Fine Arts. The next chance to see a presentation will be the November 4th meeting of the National Capital Planning Commission.
You may recall that the original NPS proposal, in 2002, was to screen visitors underground at the Monument Lodge (the stone building at 15th Street) and send them through a 400-foot tunnel to the Monument elevator. That project was sharply criticized by the public and in the media, and Congress withdrew funding. The low security walls surrounding the Monument, to protect against vehicular attack, were put in place but visitor screening never was resolved. Read about that controversy in our UPDATE from almost exactly 7 years ago, which includes a front page Washington Post story.
Since this security screening project has been dormant for several years, the Coalition and other interested parties have no information about what is being planned. The NPS has already been consulting with the District and federal government agencies. NPS is holding a public scoping meeting November 8th and the public will have 30 days to respond. We thought the public scoping meeting was supposed to happen long before plans were drawn up and presented to CFA and NCPC. I guess we were wrong.
Due to the high visibility and importance of the Washington Monument and because of increased security concerns, the Monument requires improved protection against acts of terrorism. NPS proposes improvements to current security systems at the Washington Monument, including replacement of the temporary visitor screening facility that is currently located at the base of the Washington Monument. The Monument grounds were rehabilitated in 2006 to include new pedestrian circulation and a vehicle barrier system to protect the Monument. A new visitor screening facility would finish the security improvements and provide for secure access to the monument.
The NPS has initiated consultations with the District of Columbia Historic Preservation Officer, the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, the National Capital Planning Commission, and the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts regarding the proposed project. In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act, the NPS will prepare an environmental assessment (EA) to analyze potential impacts associated with the security improvements.
Public scoping for the proposed project will extend from November 8 to December 8. A public meeting will be held November 8, 2010 and the date, time, and location of the meeting will be announced by email and in local media. In addition, the public will have additional opportunities to attend informational presentations of the preliminary design studies prepared by the design team at the upcoming October 21, 2010 meeting of the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts and the November 4, 2010 meeting of the National Capital Planning Commission. As soon as presentation materials are available, the NPS will post them to the NPS Planning, Environment, and Public Comment website (http://pepc.nps.gov) and notify you by email.
If you have any questions or require any further information, please do not hesitate to call Joni Gallegos, Project Manager, at 202-619-7291.
The National Park Service has posted a notice, copied below, about plans to replace the existing security screening structure at the foot of the Washington Monument with a permanent structure. Since the NPS only sent out the notice Wednesday afternoon, we received it too late to plan to attend or to alert our readers to the public presentation yesterday, October 21st, at the Commission of Fine Arts. The next chance to see a presentation will be the November 4th meeting of the National Capital Planning Commission.
You may recall that the original NPS proposal, in 2002, was to screen visitors underground at the Monument Lodge (the stone building at 15th Street) and send them through a 400-foot tunnel to the Monument elevator. That project was sharply criticized by the public and in the media, and Congress withdrew funding. The low security walls surrounding the Monument, to protect against vehicular attack, were put in place but visitor screening never was resolved. Read about that controversy in our UPDATE from almost exactly 7 years ago, which includes a front page Washington Post story.
Since this security screening project has been dormant for several years, the Coalition and other interested parties have no information about what is being planned. The NPS has already been consulting with the District and federal government agencies. NPS is holding a public scoping meeting November 8th and the public will have 30 days to respond. We thought the public scoping meeting was supposed to happen long before plans were drawn up and presented to CFA and NCPC. I guess we were wrong.
* * *
From the NPS:
October 20, 2010
The National Park Service (NPS) proposes to improve the security and visitor screening at the Washington Monument (the Monument) in Washington, D.C.
Due to the high visibility and importance of the Washington Monument and because of increased security concerns, the Monument requires improved protection against acts of terrorism. NPS proposes improvements to current security systems at the Washington Monument, including replacement of the temporary visitor screening facility that is currently located at the base of the Washington Monument. The Monument grounds were rehabilitated in 2006 to include new pedestrian circulation and a vehicle barrier system to protect the Monument. A new visitor screening facility would finish the security improvements and provide for secure access to the monument.
The NPS has initiated consultations with the District of Columbia Historic Preservation Officer, the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, the National Capital Planning Commission, and the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts regarding the proposed project. In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act, the NPS will prepare an environmental assessment (EA) to analyze potential impacts associated with the security improvements.
Public scoping for the proposed project will extend from November 8 to December 8. A public meeting will be held November 8, 2010 and the date, time, and location of the meeting will be announced by email and in local media. In addition, the public will have additional opportunities to attend informational presentations of the preliminary design studies prepared by the design team at the upcoming October 21, 2010 meeting of the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts and the November 4, 2010 meeting of the National Capital Planning Commission. As soon as presentation materials are available, the NPS will post them to the NPS Planning, Environment, and Public Comment website (http://pepc.nps.gov) and notify you by email.
If you have any questions or require any further information, please do not hesitate to call Joni Gallegos, Project Manager, at 202-619-7291.