OPINION:
The latest attempt to fix the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool cost about $14 million — and part of it already appears to be failing (“Trump says vandalism at Reflecting Pool will force drainage for ‘necessary repairs,’” Web, June 21).
Wouldn’t a big grass field be a lot cheaper and make a nice space for community activities? We could have playgrounds and maybe even a baseball field or two for local recreation leagues.
I’m not blaming President Trump. This huge, ill-conceived pool of shallow water has been nothing but a headache for presidents and the National Park Service going back many decades.
By now, they all should have figured out that leaving a vast, shallow pool of stagnant water in the hot and humid summers of this part of the country is guaranteed to create, well, a smelly, ugly mess.
The Lincoln Memorial, Washington residents and the capital city’s millions of tourists deserve better. Mr. Trump recognized as much when he pledged earlier this year to fix the problem. But it’s turning out to be another fortune of taxpayer money dumped into an impossible mission.
So I vote for the grass field option. We could have some big shade trees nicely spaced out and maybe a walking path too. We have the Potomac River and the Tidal Basin right nearby for anyone wanting water views.
I bet Presidents Abraham Lincoln and George Washington, looking from their respective vantage points across the Reflecting Pool, would agree with my proposed solution.
And I hope someone from NPS puts a proposal like this in the president’s inbox.
DAVID BURNS
Springfield, Virginia
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