A long-discussed, and perpetually controversial, proposal to close Rock Creek Park to automobile traffic is headed toward construction. Questions about the impact of the project remain.
"Work to reconstruct a nearly 6.5 mile stretch of Beach Drive, from Rock Creek Parkway to the Maryland line, will start soon," according to an article by David Cranor. "That will mean closing a section of the road that the National Park Service, environmentalists, and cyclists have long wanted to close but that motorists and some neighbors have fought to keep open."
According to the article, the work to close the road in Rock Creek Park culminates a movement that first began in the 1960s and 1970s. The article details the many twists and turns of the effort to close the road to automobiles over the years.
Cranor concludes by listing some large remaining questions, and appealing to the District Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration to study the impacts of the project:
Will the impact of such closures—during the midday, not rush hour—be "minimal," as the Park Service concluded, or will it be "severe?" Will neighborhood roads be filled with traffic? Will safety be compromised? Will travel times dramatically increase? Will those with disabilities stay away from the park? And what are the impacts during rush hours?
FULL STORY: Would it be the end of the world if fewer cars could pass through Rock Creek Park? We'll find out soon.
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City of Albany
UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
City of Piedmont, CA
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research