Senator terms closing of avenue by President "KNEE-JERK reaction"
Photo by Sharon Natoli / The Washington Times
A class from New York poses at the White House with no vehicles
to contend with on Pennsylvania Avenue.
By Philip Brasher
Associated Press
A year after President Clinton closed Pennsylvania Avenue in
front of the White House for security reasons, a group of
senators is urging the reopening of one of America's most famous
streets.
At a news conference yesterday in front of the White House, Sen.
Rod Grams, Minnesota Republican, called the closing a "knee-jerk
reaction to fear"
"A roadway that once resonated with freedom now reeks of fear"
he said.
Mr. Grams introduced a resolution in the Senate this week urging
the reopening. The resolution has two co-sponsors, Alaska
Republican Ted Stevens and Virginia Democrat Charles S. Robb.
Members of the D.C. Council, along with preservationists,
business groups and the American Automobile Association's local
chapter also want the street reopened.
Mr. Clinton closed the two-block section May 20, 1995, after the
bombing of the Oklahoma City federal building. The closure had
been under study, and urged by the Secret Service, for months.
At a bill signing yesterday, Mr. Clinton said he wanted to see
the street turned into a park. "It's quite a nice space and with
a little investment, it can be made ... quite attractive," he
said.
The section is closed at either end by concrete barricades. The
National Park Service plans to convert it into a pedestrian mall.
"The hard fact is that in order for us to protect the president
from vehidles with explosive devices in them driving past the
perimeter, Pennsylvania Avenue must remain closed" said Carl
Meyer, a spokesman for the Secret Service.
But Mr. Grams, who also has criticized security measures on
Capitol Hill, says some risk is inherent in a democracy Last
summer his staff surveyed the Capitol security and found 27
police officers on patrol of the grounds, 33 retractable traffic
barriers and 26 concrete barricades.
"In the capital city of a nation built of the people, by the
people and for the people there can be no room for fear,
roadblocks or barricades" he said yesterday.
D.C. Council member Frank Smith, Ward 1 Democrat, said the
street closing led to "constant traffic gridlock, uncompensated
economic costs and loss of freedom."