THE WASHINGTON POST
Friday, June 7, 1996
NO AVENUE OF ESCAPE
U.S. AGREES PENNSYLVANIA 'S CLOSE IS JAMMING DOWNTOWN
By Stephen C. Fehr and Alice Reid
Washington Post Staff Writers
The federal government confirmed yesterday what commuters,
cabbies, business owners and some members of Congress have been
saying for a year: The closing of Pennsylvania Avenue in front of
the White House has added to downtown traffic congestion,
squeezing 30 percent to 50 percent more cars onto adjacent city
streets.
But to those who would like to see the reopening of Pennsylvania
Avenue, which was blockaded a year ago by President Clinton
because of security concerns after the Oklahoma City bombing,
administration officials yesterday said: Forget it.
"We believe there are those on our own soil that would target
the White House," said Jim Johnson, assistant treasury secretary
for enforcement, who is scheduled to speak today at a
congressional hearing on the report. "It is also clear from
devastation in Oklahoma City, in Beirut and elsewhere that a car
or truck bomb can have a devastating impact over a wide area....
Traffic was a concern and remains a concern, but the overriding
concern is security.
Rep. Thomas M. Davis m (R-Va.), however, said yesterday that the
Secret Service had not proved the security risk was serious
enough to keep the street closed permanently, and he has amended
a pending Interior Department appropriations bill that would
prevent the National Park Service from spending $40 million to
create a park where the street now runs.
"We need more analysis and justification, and we haven't had
that yet," said Davis, who along with Del. Eleanor Holmes Nortor·
(D-D.C.) is angry at the Clinton administration for not
reimbursing the city for problems created by the closing.
"Nobody is saying reopen the street at this point," Davis said.
"I just think we're very unsure about the justification. Before
we spend $40 million, we should take a deep breath and see what's
involved."
The long-delayed federal study, to be re leased today, compared
traffic before and after the May 1995 barricading of Pennsylvania
Avenue. It found that the number of cars on Constitution Avenue
had increased by 50 percent, while traffic on H and I streets had
risen by one-third. The report, paid for by the Federal Highway
Administration, wa; done by a private consultant.
North-south routes, such as 14th, 17th, 18th and 19th streets,
also have gained more cars and trucks, as drivers struggle to
find a way around the now-blockaded street that once carried an
average of 28,000 vehicles on weekdays. Traffic on two streets,
13th and 15th, has decreased.
The result for drivers has been not only clogged streets but
also frayed nerves.
Ernest Williams, 22, who commutes from Baltimore, said the new
traffic patterns have added about 35 minutes to what was a 75
minute drive.
"It's a real inconvenience. I could stop by and get something
to eat at McDonald's. Instead, I'm sitting in traffic," said
Williams, interviewed yesterday afternoon by a reporter who
walked alongside his car as it crawled along I Street between
16th and 17th streets.
"You get mad," he said. "You want to curse out the guy in
front of you, the guy beside of you, the guy behind you who's
blowing his horn."
In addition, the report said changes in bus routes
necessitated by the closing have cost Metro almost $300,000
because more buses are needed to maintain on-schedule service,
and the District has lost nearly $100,000 in revenue because
parking meters have been taken out to accommodate more traffic
on H and I streets.
Davis said last night that his amendment to the appropriations
bill, to be considered in a few weeks, would prevent
construction of the park unless the Clinton administration
proves it's needed for security.
Told of Davis's comments, James I. McDaniel, the National Park
Service"s White House liaison, said last night: "it doesn't
surprise me, but it is obviously a signal and one we will listen
to. But we had no intention of proceeding without Congress's
concurrence."
The report includes several options for improving downtown
traffic flow but no price estimates. None of the options calls
for reopening Pennsylvania Avenue.
One idea would be to open E Street, which is one-way in the
area, to two-way traffic between 15th and 17th streets to improve
eastwest flow, which the study calls "inadequate."
Once the Ronald Reagan Federal Office and International Cultural
Center opens at Federal Triangle, adding·more than 2,000 vehicles
to the mix, the situation will get worse, the report predicts.
Other suggestions vary in complexity. They include improving the
timing of downtown traffic lights, taking out parking meters to
allow more traffic on some streets and building a tunnel to
replace Pennsylvania Avenue between 15th and 17th streets.
Pennsylvania Ave. Closure || Peace Park