Updated with the results of the DC Council vote on Monday, June 1.
Peter Harnik (center) presents a pro-Beach Drive closure petition to Council member Mary Cheh while Jim McCarthy, another longtime advocate for permanent closure, looks on. (May 28, 2021 photo)
The DC Council voted 9-4 Monday to approve a resolution urging the National Park Service to permanently close sections of upper Beach Drive to motor vehicles.
D.C. Council votes 9-4 to ask National Park Service to close upper Beach Drive permanently to traffic. This is a non-binding resolution. NPS makes decision.
DDOT says nearby streets could handle traffic, but several CMs say they need a full traffic analysis for neighborhoods. pic.twitter.com/GYSeUYN1CW
— Jordan Pascale🎙️ #WeMakeWAMU (@JWPascale) June 1, 2021
Three segments – between Beach Drive and Joyce Road NW, and two sections closer to the Maryland border, have been car free seven days a week since April 11th, 2020.
The southernmost segment is between Broad Branch Road and Joyce Road. (Maps from the People’s Alliance for Rock Creek, which has been advocating for the fulltime closures for decades.)
The two northernmost segments.
Longtime advocates for a car-free Beach Drive told the National Park Service that with more people working from home during the pandemic, we needed the space to recreate more than drivers needed access. The Park Service listened to that rationale, but made the closure a temporary one.
Peter Harnik and the People’s Alliance for Rock Creek Park have been advocating for a permanent, full-time closure since the late 1970s. In 1980, they won a partial victory when the Park Service agreed to close upper Beach Drive on weekends and holidays. The pandemic gave them a chance to move the needle once again. This time they have the support of many DC Council members, Montgomery County Council members, and Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton.
On Wednesday, May 26th, Norton sent a letter to the National Park Service to request the permanent closure.
“As we shift to post-pandemic life, there is much we have learned about our values as a community,” Norton wrote. “One of those lessons is the benefit of spending time outdoors. We want to take advantage of the opportunity the temporary closure of Beach Drive provided to prioritize health, outdoor recreation and other forms of transportation by making the closure permanent.”
The DC Council could be next to weigh in. Today, Ward 3 Council member Mary Cheh will submit a resolution, with five other co-sponsors, also requesting that the National Park Service permanently close these parts of Beach Drive to cars.
For those concerned about the impact on traffic on alternative routes, the resolution cites an analysis done by last fall by the People’s Alliance for Rock Creek. Using DDOT traffic data from prior to and during the 2017-2019 Beach Drive reconstruction, the analysis showed that rather than increasing overflow traffic, vehicle numbers actually decreased on 16th Street NW and Broad Branch Road.
To support the Council members’ efforts, Harnik and other Beach Drive closure supporters gathered at Peirce Mill last Friday to present Cheh with a petition signed by close to 3,000 DC residents.
The Council resolution will now be submitted along with the petition signatures to the National Park Service. And on June 15th, the Montgomery County Council will be taking up a resolution endorsing the permanent closure. The resolution has the support of all nine members.
Roberta Carroll says
Another bad idea brought to you by Mary Cheh, who is suppose to be in charge of transportation in the city. As we all know Rock Creek Park was purchased with DC money and eventually given to the National Park Service to manage. The National Park Service closed many roads in the park and left only a few open. It is suppose to be a scenic drive through the park. There is no public transportation that goes into the park so access is by car or bike. Some live close enough to walk into the park. This park is 26 acres of land in the middle of DC with bike trails, walking trails, horse trails, picnic areas etc. There is plenty of land for recreation and you do not need to close the one main road in the park to encourage outdoor recreation. This is the bike lobby being greedy and wanting more. They have the weekends of closed roads and now when they will be at work they want to stop the automobile traffic and take more road real estate. Where will the traffic go? There is no place for it to go and along with limiting the use of Conn. Ave. this is a recipe for disaster. We all like to drive through the park as it is pretty and relaxing, keep the park open to cars. This plan is so selfish and unnecessary.
Joe says
“As we all know Rock Creek Park was purchased with DC money and eventually given to the National Park Service to manage. ” This is simply not true. Rock Creek Park was created by an Act of Congress in September 1890 and fell under the jurisdiction of the National Park Service in 1933.
“It is suppose to be a scenic drive through the park.” That is not its intended purpose. If one studies the original legislation it states that its purpose was to be a public park or pleasure ground for the enjoyment of the people of the United States. It says nothing about being a scenic drive.
“This park is 26 acres of land in the middle of DC with bike trails, walking trails, horse trails, picnic areas etc. ” No, the park is 1,754 acres.
“you do not need to close the one main road in the park to encourage outdoor recreation.” Only a small portion (1.8 miles) of Beach Drive will be entirely closed to vehicular traffic. The vast majority of the road will still be open to vehicles.
“This is the bike lobby being greedy and wanting more.” I think you will find that there are as many if not more pedestrian users of Beach Drive than there are cyclists.
“Where will the traffic go?” See the study referenced in the post above.
Roberta Carroll says
In addition, according to an article in the Evening Star of December 26, 1891 the discussion was how the land to create Rock Creek Park was to be obtained and the Commissions for the District of Columbia would spend $1,345,000 paying an average price per acre of $686. It took years to put the park together and it was not transferred over to the National Park Service until 1933. The president said if the park was to be in DC and those residents would enjoy it, he saw no reason the Federal Government would pay for it.
Yes riding through the park was going to be a main enjoyment. In 1915 if you had an automobile you had to pull right to let the horse and carriages through. In was a main way to enjoy the park. As the suburbs grew the road was extended up to Maryland. It is still a pleasant drive through the park.
The Rock Creek Park survey on use of the closed off road on the weekends said 62% of the users were the bikers. That was the main recreation use, that survey was taken last fall. Walkers tend to use the trails.
Green Eyeshades says
Horses and carriages ! What a great idea ! We should ban those consarn horseless carriages but allow horses and carriages to share the roadway with pedestrians and bicycle riders.
All carriages must carry their own manure bag and shovel. Horses with riders allowed only on horse trails.