I saw the writing on the wall when I glanced at the front page of the Metro section in Friday’s Washington Post. One of the last bastions for running, bicycling and power-walking in downtown D.C. — the peaceful, pristine three-mile loop of East Potomac Park — is about to be adulterated.
The article described a meeting at the Corcoran Gallery of Art this past week to radically expand the Mall area into other areas including East Potomac Park, making room for dozens more monuments.
According to the article, the group that held the meeting and is leading the charge is the National Coalition to Save Our Mall, which has been gaining ground for its cause the past couple of years behind the efforts of its chairman, Judy Scott Feldman.
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She plans to “expand the Mall to include East Potomac Park in an attempt to solve the problem of memorial clutter by creating more space that would be considered prime Mall real estate,” the article said.
Six architects have a variety of plans. Should any of these plans be approved, you can forget about having races around Hains Point anymore. You can forget about those awesome training sessions and family outings, whether by foot or by bicycle, around East Potomac Park.
Today there is little automobile traffic, mainly people looking for a parking spot to exercise or socialize in one of the many little picnic spots on the peninsula or tourists viewing the Awakening. This is one of the few digs in Washington where you can run or bicycle in the street without worrying about getting hit by speeding motorists or having to stop at every intersection.
East Potomac Park has become about the only place downtown where you still can have a road race. Police costs and neighborhood opposition have forced out nearly all the races run in the streets of the city. For a few hundred dollars, you can shut down the couple of streets of East Potomac Park and run one loop for a 5K or two loops for a 10K.
Funny how race organizers are not allowed to collect entry fees on National Park Service property, but restaurants and shopping areas can be built. Will they not charge?
The National Capital Planning Commission is one of three federal agencies responsible for approving the location and design of new commemorative works on federal land, and thankfully this commission seems to get it.
“While the Legacy Plan, Memorials and Museums Master Plan, and Commemorative Works Act encourage the expansion of the monumental core and the dispersion of memorials and museums into other areas of the city, this should not be done at the expense of the need to preserve and improve existing public open spaces that are already used for public recreation, cultural activities, gatherings, and celebrations,” commission chairman John V. Cogbill testified before the Senate Subcommittee on National Parks of the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources on April12.
“Most importantly, NCPC does not support any attempt to designate East Potomac Park as an area for major memorials and museums. While the Memorials and Museums Master Plan does include several sites in East Potomac Park as potential commemorative sites, its intention is to provide space for smaller commemorative works that enhance, not overwhelm, the predominantly waterfront open space and recreational character of East Potomac Park.”
Feldman’s group does not agree.
Thus, I call upon the area’s running and bicycling advocacy groups and clubs to get involved. That includes the Potomac Valley Association of U.S. Track & Field, Washington Area Bicycling Association and League of American Bicyclists.
We do not need additional monuments and memorials and traffic. We need to protect and treasure our green space and to encourage people to exercise. The only monument I can imagine we need right now is the Obesity Monument, accessible only by car, that can symbolize a nation that puts restaurants and shopping ahead of fitness and recreation.
We need to send a message to the National Coalition to Save Our Mall (P.O. Box 4709, Rockville, MD 20849, 800/618-3166) or others telling them to leave our parks alone. And we need to rally behind NCPC (401 9th Street NW, Suite 500, Washington, D.C. 20004, 202/482-7200) to protect East Potomac Park and our other parkland, which continues to diminish to commercial and other uses.
This just in — The Greater Washington Sports Alliance announced yesterday that Channel4 will serve as the official broadcast partner for the March25 National Marathon, with live broadcast of the inaugural marathon’s start and finish at RFK Stadium during its “Today” show.
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