July 8, 2009
Dear Coalition Friends:
Tomorrow, there are two public meetings on Mall matters.
1. At its monthly meeting, the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC) will be asked by the National Park Service to approve its Mall wayfinding/signage proposals. Learn more about the meeting, which starts at 12:30 p.m.
For comments by the National Coalition to Save Our Mall to NCPC regarding the signage program, read our "Case for Comprehensive Transportation Planning on the National Mall" below.
We have written about the jurisdictional problems raised by the signage program in earlier UPDATES.
2. The National Park Service (NPS) is holding a public scoping meeting for its new proposal to rehabilitate the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool and surrounding areas of the Mall on Thursday, July 9, 2009 from 5:30 PM to 8:00 PM at the Old Post Office Tower (Room MO9), 1100 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Washington, D.C. NPS staff and their consultants will present project information from 6:00pm to 6:30pm. Subsequently, during an open house from 6:30pm to 8pm, the project team will available to discuss alternatives and site characteristics. The NPS will accept comments on the proposed project through Friday, August 14, 2009. Submit comments on-line by following the appropriate links at: http://parkplanning.nps.gov/NAMA SEE THE FULL PRESS RELEASE BELOW.
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THE CASE FOR COMPREHENSIVE TRANSPORTATION PLANNING ON THE NATIONAL MALL
National Coalition to Save Our Mall
July 8, 2009
In recent weeks both the Commission of Fine Arts (CFA) and the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC), in reviewing the National Park Service (NPS) proposal for signage/wayfinding on the National Mall, asked NPS to make significant changes. CFA asked that the color-coded identification system, by stakeholder, be eliminated and that a single color be used for all attractions and destinations. NCPC asked that the DC Circulator bus stops (for the new, low cost DC center city public transit service) be identified as well as the Tourmobile bus stops. We understand that NPS has refused this last request.
But these two conflicts with NPS Mall management mask the greater problem: the lack of unified Mall-wide systems planning.
Lack of unified management involving all Mall stakeholders is, in this case, the cause of transportation woes on the National Mall. For many years NPS has resisted providing convenient, low-cost transit service for all parts of the Mall. DC City Government, Downtown DC BID, Metro and the Smithsonian have all tried to introduce some kind of low cost shuttle service at the Mall’s heart, but have been rebuffed by NPS. NPS has insisted on making the Tourmobile interpretive transportation the exclusive Mall-wide transportation service. (Tourmobile is a NPS concession aimed at first-time visitors and tourists and is expensive to use -- $27 for adults, $13 for children ages 3-11).
Now with the new signage proposal, NPS seems to want, in effect, to cement the status quo favoring Tourmobile while restricting visitors’ access to information about alternative public transit.
Today the Circulator is forced, due to NPS resistance, to use Constitution and Independence Avenues around the Mall’s perimeter, instead of Jefferson and Madison Drives at the Mall’s center, where visitors are most seeking an inexpensive and easy way to get around. Additionally the western portions of the Mall remain grossly underserved by any low-cost transit. There is a vital need to establish basic, convenient public transit throughout the Mall so that all can freely enjoy this cherished landscape.
We believe that NCPC approval of the NPS signage/wayfinding proposal should be deferred until NPS agrees to identify all transit systems.
We further strongly encourage NCPC to postpone any final decisions or approvals until NPS has submitted the transportation component of its National Mall Plan that identifies all current and proposed future transit system improvements for tourists as well as local residents to get to, around, and across the National Mall.
This is another instance where an independent, term-limited Mall Commission can bring all Mall stakeholders -- including the District and the public -- to the table and find solutions to complex problems such as transportation.
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June 26, 2009
For Immediate Release
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act, the National Park Service (NPS) is preparing an Environmental Assessment (EA) to evaluate a range of alternatives for the rehabilitation of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool (Reflecting Pool) and surrounding area located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.
The EA will analyze alternatives intended to rehabilitate and enhance the infrastructure, circulation, accessibility, and historic resources at various locations around the Reflecting Pool. At the Reflecting Pool, upgrades are proposed both to improve its water supply, water quality, drainage, and structural system as well as to formalize walkways along the worn dirt paths created by approximately 4.5 million annual visitors travelling between the World War II Memorial and the Lincoln Memorial. To the north and south of the Reflecting Pool along the historic elm walks, some furnishings would be reconfigured and the walkways would be upgraded to enhance visitor experience. New permanent lighting would also be installed. To the west end of the elm walks, improvements are proposed that integrate accessible pathways down to the Reflecting Pool with a permanent vehicular security system to replace the temporary concrete closure at the center section of the Lincoln Memorial east plaza.
The purpose of these actions is to improve and enhance visitor experience, the efficiency of park management and operations, and the functionality and sustainability of certain elements at the Reflecting Pool and surrounding area in a manner that respects the historic resources of the Lincoln Memorial cultural landscape. The monuments, memorials, landscape features, and vistas within the project area constitute some of the most iconic and recognizable images commemorating presidential legacies and war veterans in the country, contributing to an annual estimated visitorship of approximately 4.5 million. Nevertheless, the project area is being used far beyond capacity, and the physical condition of the infrastructure and circulation systems have deteriorated to such an extent that they are creating inefficiencies in park management and operations. In addition, several components need to be upgraded to address issues that were not anticipated in the original planning and design of the project area, such as security, accessibility, and nighttime visitation.
A public scoping meeting will be held by the NPS on Thursday, July 9, 2009 from 5:30 PM to 8:00 PM at the Old Post Office Tower (Room MO9), 1100 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Washington, D.C. NPS staff and their consultants will present project information from 6:00pm to 6:30pm. Subsequently, during an open house from 6:30pm to 8pm, the project team will available to discuss alternatives and site characteristics.
If you wish to comment on the on the Reflecting Pool Rehabilitation Project, comments will be taken during this meeting, or you may submit them electronically (The NPS preferred method of receiving comments), by fax, or mail them directly. The NPS will accept comments on the proposed project through Friday, August 14, 2009.
Submit comments on-line by following the appropriate links at: http://parkplanning.nps.gov/NAMA
Fax comments to:
Attn: Reflecting Pool Rehabilitation Project
(202) 401-0017
Mailed directly to:
Terri Urbanowski, Project Manager
Attn: Reflecting Pool Rehabilitation Project
National Park Service - DSC
12795 West Alameda Parkway
Lakewood, CO 80288-2838
The public scoping meeting will also provide the first opportunity for consultation on the project under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act. Section 106 is the process by which federal agencies take into account the effect of undertakings upon historic resources on or eligible for the National Register for Historic Places.
Public Access to Old Post Office Tower meeting room: Enter only via the south side of the building, across the street from the Federal Triangle Metro station on 12th Street NW. Proceed through a security checkpoint; proceed to the stairs or elevators and go upstairs one level.
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