Closed Street, Open Issue
The serenity of the closed-off section of Pennsylvania Avenue in
front of the White House doesn't put to rest the serious
questions that arise from the suddenness of the White House
action. Without public hearings or careful review by either
District or congressional leaders, two blocks of a major District
of Columbia thorough-fare and a segment of South Executive Avenue
were summarily placed off limits to vehicular traffic. Through
apparently a fait accompli, the closings leave several legitimate
concerns unanswered.
Did the secretary of the Treasury have the authority to order
the street closings, and was the decision taken in a proper
manner? The Justice Department believes there are federal
statutes, including the Home Rule Act, that give the Treasury
secretary, through the Secret Senice, broad authority to act in
behalf of the president's security. There is, for those who have
forgotten, a little-known provision in the Home Rule that known
as the National Capital Service Area. That provision carves out
and reserves federal administrative authority over a broad belt
of the downtown area consisting of federal office buildings, the
National Mall and other important national svmbols including the
White House area and Lafa;ette Square. The Justice Department
evidently believes this area of heightened federal interest also
bolsters the Secret Service's authority to close streets as it
wishes within the confines of National Capital Service Area. The
legal authority issue, however, is not as open and shut as the
administration makes it out to be. The District and Congress have
every right to press this question. It has important implications
for other city streets Defining the federal interest in the
nation's capital must not be a White House exclusive.
Then there is the question of paying for the changes. Street
closings are expected to bring with them significant financial
costs. There is no way the broke D.C. government can bear the
unexpected loss of revenues brought on by the removal of parking
meters, loading zones and vending spaces from the surrounding
streets or by changes in traffic light and signs. The federal
government, which said yesterday that it would pay for the
changes, must make the city whole. And Congress should see that
it does.
In addition, even though the closed streets are an accomplished
fact--and one that was much too summarily sprung on city
officials who would have to cope with its effects--we think that
they should be regarded and treated as a temporary response to an
emergency, or at the very least an unfortunate but necessary step
that in time may no longer be needed. The traditional and
historic role of Pennsylvania Avenue as a grand street should not
be abandoned as lightly and swiftly as it has for a proposed
plaza sprinkled with more guardhouses, baniers and gates.
Pennsylvania Ave. Closure || Peace Park