April 7, 2008
Dear Coalition Friends,
The Cherry Blossoms are in full bloom and tourists and local residents are out in force on the National Mall.
This is a time of year when questions about public access -- transportation, parking, use of the public open space -- come sharply into focus. Recent articles and commentaries shine light on some the problems, questions, and decisions being made about the future.
Excerpts are provided below of the following articles:
- Making the Tidal Basin lot inaccessible hurts everyone by commentator Melanie Scarborough in The Examiner, March 31, 2008
- D.C. seeds idea to open Tourmobile to the public in the Washington Business Journal, March 21, 2008
- Rights of Protesters Violated, Judge Rules, in The Washington Post, March 21, 2008
These are topics of critical importance to future of the Mall.
As you are aware, the National Park Service (NPS) is in the process of developing its National Mall Plan and seeks public comment on these and other subjects -- http://www.nps.gov/nationalmallplan/.
In the public consultation sessions for the Mall Plan held so far this year, these topics have been raised briefly but not yet discussed in any depth. How these questions of access are resolved will determine much about the welcoming and democratic quality of the Mall in the future.
The next National Mall Plan Section 106 Consulting Parties Meeting is scheduled for April 16, 2008, 12-4 p.m., in the Old Post Office meeting rooms (M-09), 12th and Pennsylvania Avenue NW.
Differences between the NPS and others on matters of access are more than a matter of opinion.
There is an inherent tension -- also noted also by Ms. Scarborough in The Examiner -- between the public needs described in the three articles and the NPS's mission. The mission of the National Park Service is "to conserve the scenery and the natural and historic objects ...by such means as will leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations" http://www.nps.gov/legacy/organic-act.htm. However, the Mall, in contrast to national parks such as Yosemite, is an urban park and public open space -- with all that entails in terms of creating accessible, welcoming, and lively spaces for public activities in the center of the capital city.
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