CPposts
Klingle Road

On July 1, 2005 the DC Department of Transportation issued its Draft Environmental Impact Statement on the rebuilding of Klingle Road. It is found at http://www.klingleroadeis.com/eisdoc.html but it is huge (16 MB)  It is also in 12 parts, each in a PDF file, that allows you to do limited searches within just that file, but not to add bookmarks and comments. It is much easier to work in a Word document, so I scanned all of the PDF's in the main report and linked most of the pictures. The result is only about 2.2 MB, but it is in one document and easier to find things, do cross references and select for quoting. That is, it is a research tool for those who really want to read and understand it. It still needs some cleanup, but it can be used with the pdf files as reference.

Word Document of the Body of the EIS with linked pictures and maps. (2.2MB in a new Window) (right click and choose "Save target as..." to just download)

The 13 maps are at http://www.klingleroadeis.com/maps.html with nice thumbnails 

So, what does it say? It says that the best alternative is to just rebuild the road the way it was with two lanes of traffic and little or no shoulders. 

So, why did it take so long and why has the road not been rebuilt yet? City Council said construction was to start more than a year ago and be finished by now. Some people have not given up on converting the road into a narrow twisty park and the National Park Services would like to gobble up the land to have no 'outsiders' within its boundaries. The NPS is proposing a "management plan" that would close the road to traffic weekends and in non-rush hours on weekdays and make it of little use for emergency vehicles as well as other non-commuters.

So, why should I do anything? If you do nothing, the foes of the road will appear to be the voice of the community. Do not under estimate the power of a few to block progress. A law suit is expected from the very wealthy who walk their dogs there and if the Department of Transportation thinks the local residents do not care, it will not fight the suit. The National Park Service's local chief is vehemently against automobiles, even on this historic road. By allowing the City to use only six feet of park land for small portions of the road, we could have a recreational path as well. But the NPS refuses this sensible solution and is trying to drag things out until the people who remember the Road lose interest or die off.  

What can I do? Go to RepairKlingleRoad.org and  send a letter or volunteer to help. Go to the meeting at the Zoo on July 21 from 6:60 to 10pm and enter a comment. 

16 July 2005