Just 10 months after shipping its historic Glen Echo PCC streetcar off to a scrapyard without public notice, the National Park Service is at it again.
Without wide public notification, NPS has already created a proposal to turn a portion of the streetcar's still-existing right-of-way into a bike trail.
In fact, they've even completed the environmental assessment at taxpayer expense, before said taxpayers even knew the proposal existed.
It's outrageous.
I thought NPS had no money. It has been scrapping streetcars and canal boats, and according to the Washington Post, can't even clean the restrooms in its public parks.
So how did they afford to pay for an environmental assessment?
Much as local NIMBYs played a major role in shutting down Glen Echo Amusement Park - and then made sure its amusement rides were never restored, but, rather, demolished - this proposal sounds awfully familiar.
With Washington DC's streetcar revival flourishing, and massive employment growth occurring along the MacArthur Boulevard corridor, the time has never been more right to study restoration of streetcar service to the old Georgetown-Glen Echo-Cabin John right-of-way.
So, wouldn't this be just the right time for NPS to assume its familiar role as NIMBY Protection Service at Glen Echo.
"We're not going to have an amusement park start up in this neighborhood again! And we're not going to have streetcars running through here, either!"
Says who? Says who?
I continue to say we ought to have both. Every single American is paying to maintain Glen Echo Park, but instead of providing joy and entertainment to the masses as it once did, it is essentially a social club for the narrow audience its programming is targeted towards.
Likewise, streetcar service would have environmental and congestion-relieving benefits for large areas on both sides of the Potomac. Why would we provide a benefit to a few with this trail, at the expense of the many? Doesn't our anti-car, anti-highway county council say we need more transit? Just not in this case?
Something's not right about this. So, as Barney Fife used to say, we've got to nip this in the bud right now.
With no advance notice, I could not attend last night's hush-hush NPS public meeting.
But comment I have, anyway! They always assume the average citizen won't take the time to comment. I say, let's prove them wrong!
Here's the text of my comments (NPS is accepting online comments through February 8):
# # # # # # # #
I strongly object to the proposed bike trail along part of the historic Glen Echo streetcar right-of-way (ROW).
The most fundamental problem with this proposal is the unnecessary relocation of bike facilities onto the streetcar ROW. Rail rights-of-way are virtually impossible to obtain in Montgomery County today, both fiscally and practically.
Bike paths and lanes - as demonstrated in the county and in the District - are relatively easy to obtain and locate where space exists. In contrast, there is no alternative route in this corridor for a streetcar. Therefore, the streetcar ROW must be accommodated in this case.
This is critically important to any future reinstatement of streetcar operation between Georgetown and Glen Echo (and beyond).
A large residential population in the Palisades and on the county side, the coming expansion of the Sangamore Road intelligence campus, and the rapidly-growing Sibley Hospital campus call for serious consideration of returning streetcars to the still-existing Georgetown-Glen Echo-Cabin John ROW.
Therefore, I am perplexed not only as to why NPS would propose blocking the ROW at this juncture, but why the county council and Planning Board are not strenuously objecting to the plan, as well.
I am also concerned with the arbitrary nature of this sudden proposal. I've known of the need to improve bicycle safety along the MacArthur corridor for years. But I've never heard seizing part of the streetcar facility as a proposed solution before yesterday, January 24. It was then that I read online that a meeting was being held that evening, which I could not attend on such short notice.
Why was there no published announcement in widely-circulated newspapers, or advance notice via the press? Such poor outreach suggests public input is not welcome.
How did we already get an environmental assessment with no public input as to whether or not the larger, taxpaying public wants this project, or not?
The impression such a closed process presents - accurate or not - is that, once again, a few well-connected citizens are attempting to prevent future streetcar service along part or all of the ROW. Or that a few cyclists are attempting to appropriate a public resource that holds potential environmental and infrastructure benefits to all, at the expense of the rest of us.
I don't even understand where NPS obtained funds for an environmental assessment when its financial distress is well-known, and it claimed it could not afford to repaint the PCC streetcar last March, and gave it away for scrap.
Given the latter episode, the optics of NPS giving away more of the streetcar legacy - and future potential - are terrible PR-wise and communitywise.
I know that rails-to-trails is a classic NIMBY tactic to stop commuter rail service. As we see in the Purple Line debate today, once a trail goes in, it is extremely unpopular to have it replaced with rail in the future. With the coming growth in this corridor, blocking the streetcar ROW would be highly irresponsible.
Another solution can be found for bicycles in that area. But you are not going to find another streetcar right-of-way.
For that reason, I strongly urge you to scrap plans to utilize any portion of the streetcar right-of-way and creek trestle for bicycling or other vehicular or recreational use.
Limited resources at this time would be better spent cooperating with the DC DOT on a potential extension of DC Streetcar service into Maryland, via the former Glen Echo right-of-way.
Respectfully,
Robert Dyer
Bethesda, MD
13 comments:
File a report with their OIG that the envir assessment was a waste of taxpayer funds.
Robert - I believe the rails to trails bill allows for any railway (I presume Glen Echo being one) to convert back to a railway at the government's option. Regardless, in the extraordinarily unlikely event that the government decided to install a railway along the original ROW and tracks, the structure could in no way hold a modern light rail or even vehicular traffic. The entire thing would need to be rebuilt. I presume you have used the existing trail? Right at the Goldsboro circle the pedestrian / bike area is extremely narrow, separated from the road only by plastic pylons. Very unsafe and crowded - there is a bus stop there as well.
There are hundreds of people who use the trail to commute - I see them every day - this structure will increase safety for all those people as well as residents who walk along the path.
I believe your rant is sorely misguided. There are a lot of other areas of waste but this specific area of this project is not one of them.
First of all, I don't believe a coherent, rational piece offering an opposing opinion can be characterized as a "rant."
As I mentioned above, I am aware of safety concerns for cyclists in the MacArthur corridor. But that does not mean this particular solution is wise. For example, right at the Goldsboro circle, the sidewalk around the center could be cut back on that side to expand space for a wider bike path. It's up to the county to find those kind of solutions.
The fact is that a streetcar right-of-way like this in the downcounty is literally like gold. You cannot buy one of these. Responsible public officials would not allow such a valuable facility to be given away like this. I never suggested using the existing trestle; is anyone seriously suggesting riding bicycles over that trestle? It's going to be replaced in either case, at great expense. Where is all this money going to come from?
As far as streetcars being "unlikely," the real world around us makes that argument moot. The DC streetcar is coming to Georgetown. An extension out here, with a right-of-way already in place, is a logical next step for the reasons I outlined above. Sure, theoretically you can reverse trails to rails, but it hardly ever happens, as we have found in the CCT vs. Purple Line debate. That's why NIMBYS use that strategy.
I'm on the record supporting improved bike facilities countywide, and new ways to pay for them. But it's counterproductive to pit bikes vs. streetcars, when each has a critical role in a multimodal transportation future. This "solution" helps politicians say they've delivered an expensive bike project, and helps those same NIMBYs who opposed Glen Echo Amusement Park and now oppose streetcars, at the expense of the rest of us. That's not a winning deal. Everyone can't get everything they want; there has to be accommodation for each type of transportation facility.
Robert, is there anyone but you who is advocating to bring back streetcars on the old Georgetown-Glen Echo-Cabin John right-of-way? I could not find any advocacy group for this nor is it part of DDOT or MDOT plans. Maybe they already studied it an rejected it.
I would hardly say "with Washington DC's streetcar revival flourishing". The two lines that are under construction still are not running.
A basic argument for streetcars is ridership. You fail to prove that point. Just because you think that there is "massive employment growth occurring along the MacArthur Boulevard corridor" with "Sangamore Road intelligence campus" and "rapidly-growing Sibley Hospital campus", where do those employees live? I doubt that a significant number live near the streetcar right-of-way to make its use a viable commuting option and provide ridership numbers.
Where are the people who need to ride between Georgetown and Glen Echo? Nostalgia does not
provide ridership.
The "large residential population in the Palisades" probably isn't too much larger that when the streetcar last ran. It's not a growing population center. It's an old neighborhood.
Please explain how "streetcar service would have environmental and congestion-relieving benefits for large areas on both sides of the Potomac." What areas in Maryland, DC, and Virginia would have environmental and congestion-relieving benefits. I can't fathom how it would benefit Virginia.
In your letter to the NPS, you even think that the streetcar should operate "beyond" Georgetown and Glen Echo. Where is the land for that extension?
You also frequently think that there is some vast conspiracy to push ideas that are against your
beliefs. That it's "arbitrary" and "sudden". There isn't a conspiracy between the NPS, NIMBYs, county council, the press, "a few well-connected citizens", or "a few cyclists", etc. You just didn't know about it in time to express your opinions at a public forum. Maybe you're just not as on top of things as you'd like to think.
You're obviously nostalgic about the old Glen Echo Park and streetcar, that it brings "joy and entertainment to the masses". Masses? It only
satisfied the needs of those who liked whatever kind of entertainment it provided. Well, now it provides a different kind of entertainment for a different kind of "masses". Obviously not you since you characterize it as "essentially a social club for the narrow audience its programming is targeted towards". I'd say it reaches a much wider audience (more "masses") year round, who are interested in the arts and dance, than a few amusement park rides and old pool.
In your response to the comments, you say that the streetcar right-of-way is "literally gold". Maybe
but where does the "gold" come from to build the streetcar. Selling the right-of-way in Palisades to a developer to build a few houses would generate a lot of "gold".
Face it, the Georgetown-Glen Echo streetcar isn't going to be built just like all the other
transportation projects (Rockville Freeway, etc., whatever they're called) that you keep advocating for.
The fact that you would support selling the streetcar right-of-way to developers for private profit certainly helps to put your overall comments into context.
You oppose highways. You oppose rail transit. So what is your plan to deal with the existing and future traffic congestion in Montgomery County? And if your unspecified plan is so superior, why are you hiding behind a cloak of anonymity?
The issue at hand is not the merits of a streetcar in 2013, but preserving a valuable right-of-way for such future use.
I don't just "think" the streetcar would operate past Glen Echo Park - it did historically. How do you think it turned around? The right-of-way goes far beyond the park, out past Wilson Lane, and the turnaround site is still there at the way end nearing the Beltway.
It's funny you used the insult about "not being on top of things" going on, as that is precisely what developers like EYA have said when I show up at a public hearing, asking why citizens were not informed of a project. They never did produce copies of the public announcements, and I'd ask you to do the same. Where specifically would a citizen have seen a public announcement about this bike project? Please let me know. What local paper had an ad? It's only when they have to legally announce it, the process is halfway done without citizen input, and then the developer makes fun of citizens, saying they're "late to the table." Come on. I've been engaged in the community for my adult life. If I don't know it's happening, believe me, nobody knows it's happening.
Nostalgia for Glen Echo Park? That's not technically possible, considering the Amusement Park and the streetcar were both shut down before I was born. But from my archival research, and personal interviews with many, many people who did patronize the park, it was clearly better than any diversions in today's Montgomery County. It was not only a great amusement park, but an outstanding display of architecture and design - speaking of art! - of which few examples remain today. Are you seriously suggesting turnstile traffic at Glen Echo today is higher than when it was an amusement park?! I'd recommend looking at some of the photos from back then. The place was packed. If you're calling the Crystal Pool "an old pool," I doubt you've seen it in its prime; there couldn't be a more opposite description. It even had its own beach. There were also many more rides than you describe, some still quite legendary. Your description makes it sound like a parking lot carnival. You seem to express contempt for the amusement park, and the hard-working "little people" who like to pass time and relax at such a place.
You say the Rockville Freeway and Outer Beltway will never be built? I'm less pessimistic. The roads' opponents are selling austere decline, inconvenience and dystopia. I'm selling convenience, mobility and jobs. So I'm optimistic of eventually winning that argument. Have you read the latest MoCo vs. Fairfax vs. Loudoun job numbers? There's only so much longer a friendly local media can keep these politicians afloat.
But while you're sharing your infallible knowledge of the future, can you tell me who's going to win the Super Bowl?
Robert, you draw a lot of conclusions from my post that just aren't true.
I never said that I support selling the ROW to a developer, it's just another option.
I'm not opposed to highways or rail transit. I drive to work, take Metro when necessary, sometimes ride and walk on bike trails, take streetcars in other cities. Just because I don't think a highway or streetcar won't be built doesn't mean that I oppose them. I'm just being realistic.
I never said I have a plan for traffic congestion in Montgomery County.
I post anonymously because it is an option on your blog. I prefer to keep my online footprint small. Having my name won't change my opinions our yours.
You always speak in absolutes, that "the park, it was clearly better than any diversions in today's Montgomery County". That's just an opinion not shared by everyone. It provided "different" diversions than what is available today, some better, some not. My preference in amusement parks is Cedar Point in Ohio for which I'm happy to make the trip.
You still haven't answered where is the ridership for a Georgetown-Glen Echo streetcar line. In my business we always want to know what the "use case" is. Who is going to use that streetcar line to make it an economically viable solution to a transportation problem?
Since that streetcar line is not part of any government's plans, why not let it go from rail, to trail? In the future, it can go back to rail just like the Purple Line. Let the ROW be of some good, until someone decides there should a streetcar line there.
For the Super Bowl, I'm picking the commercials.
Robert, one more thing, you accuse me of expressing contempt for "the amusement park, and the hard-working "little people" who like to pass time and relax at such a place".
I don't know where you read that, but you certainly express contempt for the current Glen Echo Park that "it is essentially a social club for the narrow audience its programming is targeted towards". Sorry if you don't like what they do.
The only thing I said about the old Glen Echo Park was "It only satisfied the needs of those who liked whatever kind of entertainment it provided." That's not contempt, it's fact. It only benefits those who like that kind of amusement park. I'm sure it was a hit back in the day.
I don't want to misrepresent anyone's opinions, so it's good that you have clarified some of them. My interpretation was valid from the standpoint that some of these projects could very realistically be built, and it is the opponents who always say they're "dead" or impossible. Will the Northwest Freeway ever be built? Not in my lifetime given what's been built within its path. But the Rockville Freeway is highly realistic if only the leadership was there. It has a clear right-of-way, can qualify for federal funds, and connects 2 growth areas, White Flint and Columbia. So to just dismiss a viable and necessary road comes across as anti-highway.
Calling the Crystal Pool an "old pool" and referring to the park as a few rides - and contrasting its patrons with high-falutin' art aficionados and cosmopolitan dancers - yes, that definitely sounded like contempt for the old Glen Echo to me.
As far as my opinion of today's Glen Echo activities - the target audience is narrow in terms of interest and demographic, compared to the diversity you would have on any day at Six Flags or Kings Dominion. With so many young families moving into the DC area, it's fairly obvious that a restored Glen Echo Amusement Park would be packed nightly. What are the other diversions for young people in Montgomery County these days? Strathmore? Listening to a bad wedding band in a mixed-use town center? Then people complain about kids "hanging out" and demand curfews. What do they expect, when you provide nothing for them to do?
I agree with you that Cedar Point is one of the best parks in the country, but the official word we hear - not from me, but from the council - is that we are going to reduce lengthy car trips. So we should offer local amusement parks a short drive or streetcar/bus/bike trip away, assuming they are sincere.
Ask 10 random people on the street whether they would like an amusement park or an arts-and-crafts social club, and I'm confident I'm on the winning side of that argument.
Although my primary issue is preserving the right-of-way, I do think the ridership will be there within a few years. Most employees at Sibley cannot afford to live by the campus, and would use the streetcar connection to Metro. The intelligence campus is massively expanding. I suppose Uncle Sam could just shrug his shoulders like at the Mark Center. Or he could fund the streetcar.
I am passionate about improving the county, and certainly have strong opinions. But the political-developer machine in Montgomery County has 6 taxpayer-funded TV channels, and 4 newspapers that amplify their daily thoughts, whims and this-is-how-it's-gonna-be plans on a loud and constant loop.
I'm just one citizen expressing a differing opinion amidst this propaganda on his blog, and I think that's one reason my readership keeps growing. I certainly welcome you and others to post anonymously; that's why I offer the option. Differing opinions are important, and I think readers benefit from considering your ideas and mine, and reaching their own conclusions. I certainly don't claim to have all the answers!
Robert, you continue to misrepresent what I said. The ONLY thing I said about the current Glen Echo Park is that it is a place for those "who are interested in the arts and dance".
However, you have shown your contempt for Glen Echo Park and have characterized it as "essentially a social club for the narrow audience its programming is targeted towards" and "arts-and-crafts social club".
I NEVER said anything about "contrasting its patrons with high-falutin' art aficionados and cosmopolitan dancers". Those are YOUR words.
Sorry if you don't like arts and crafts and dance and social clubs but don't mince my words.
If anyone, is wasting their time reading this and wondering why I'm wasting my time in this fruitless argument, here's a link to what Glen Echo Park provides. http://www.glenechopark.org/ http://www.nps.gov/glec/index.htm
You're never going to convince people of your viewpoints if you continue to argue without any facts or studies to back your statements. Changing the meaning of my statements is not going to work.
Finally, you made a new claim that Sibley employees would "would use the streetcar connection to Metro". What connection? Please explain.
I'm not twisting any words. There would be no point in misrepresenting what you had said, when your exact words are directly above my response. People reading are smart enough to know if I have or not.
My comments regarding what you said about the old Glen Echo were a legitimate interpretation of your exact words, which I will quote here:
"Masses? It only satisfied the needs of those who liked whatever kind of entertainment it provided. Well, now it provides a different kind of entertainment for a different kind of 'masses'. Obviously not you since you characterize it as 'essentially a social club for the narrow audience its programming is targeted towards'. I'd say it reaches a much wider audience (more "masses") year round, who are interested in the arts and dance, than a few amusement park rides and old pool." - end quote.
So, first of all, you described the posh Crystal Pool as an "old pool." Not only inaccurate, but disparaging. Is a person wrong to characterize that as contempt? Same thing with "a few amusement rides." There were more than a few, and they were quite impressive in their time. The argument you seemed to be making was that the amusement park was just old junk that could be swept away for the new uses of the parkland. You then say that these new activities are enjoyed by "a different kind of 'masses,'" and that this new group is "a much wider audience...interested in the arts and dance" as opposed to the original audience that was less "wider" (which translated accurately means smaller, narrower than today's audience) and were only there for "a few amusement park rides and an old pool." In contrast, you suggest, this new, "different kind" of patron is "interested in the arts and dance" as opposed to "a few" rides and a junky "old pool." Generally, the arts are considered to be a more high-minded and cultured field than amusement rides and "old" swimming pools. So your clear English language suggestion is that today's patron is both more mainstream ("wider") and sophisticated than the amusement park patron was. I can't be blamed for your use of contrast and negative modifying words.
The words in quotes are your exact words. I believe my interpretation and comments are legitimate, valid and reflect the tone of those words. Again, I put my faith in the reader to have all of the text in front of them, and come to their own conclusion.
I hope when people visit the Glen Echo website, they can report if there is still a prominent promotional photo of two actively-campaigning partisan politicians displayed there. That is a misuse of taxpayer and nonprofit funds, and hardly representative of historic Glen Echo Park. And, I hope they'll take note of the Partnership board, which is a political patronage appointment perk for the county council.
I have made factual arguments. Do you deny patronage of the park is lower now than when it was an amusement park? That the Sangamore intelligence campus is expanding with thousands of new employees (Clark Construction might differ with you - go by and take note of their signage and dirt coming out into the road from the construction site)? That Sibley has several new buildings including a physicians office building, and more to come? All are facts that can be verified by anyone reading this.
Finally, the streetcar would connect to the same Metro Red Line station it is coming from - Union Station.
Robert, I think you've hit the nail on the head. You state that "I'm not twisting any words. There would be no point in misrepresenting what you had said".
However, in the next sentence you say that your comments were a "legitimate interpretation of your exact words".
My exact words were what I said, not your interpretation. You can't have it both ways by saying you don't want to misrepresent what I said and then go do exactly the opposite. You've created your interpretation to fit your arguments. You have completely misrepresented what I said.
You state "I believe my interpretation and comments are legitimate, valid and reflect the tone of those words." Your interpretation is completely wrong.
In other posts you say "I don't want to misrepresent anyone's opinions, so it's good that you have clarified some of them." Yet you ignore my clarifications and continue to interpret and misrepresent to suit your needs.
Another example of your interpretation of what I said. I referred to the Crystal Pool as an "old pool". You interpreted that to mean "junky" in your last post. Your words not mine.
If the employees at Sibley and the Sangamore intelligence campus are going to need transportation solutions, waiting for a proposed streetcar line from Union Station is not a solution. They need viable solutions now and I'm sure they've thought of that already.
The extension of the proposed streetcar line from Union Station to Georgetown is in the second phase of DC's planned streetcars. Only parts of the first phase are under construction. The extension of the Georgetown line to Cabin John and Glen Echo is only in your mind.
This has been an amusing discussion and has really shown your true nature.
A streetcar extension to Glen Echo would be years off in the future. The matter at hand today is simply preserving the right-of-way, which is what the original post was about - making sure we have the option. Much like the Mark Center case in Virginia, very little thought has been put into transportation for the intelligence campus.
I am in favor of putting a trolley back in. 80% of the path from Georgetown to Cabin John Freeway is stil there.
I lived in LA when everyone was saying the Expo line would never come back....Guess what? Los Angeles is now half way to finishing that line.
If the trolley went to the 495, it could be a very viable route
Post a Comment