Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1926-07-02
Traffic Congestion
And Building Sites
To the Editor OF The Star.

To the Editor Of The Star:
When in O dense part of a city,
where the streets are already con-
gested with pedestrians and street
vehicles-automobiles auto trucks and
busses and street railway cars--a sim
gle new building, with capacity for
several thousand tenants, is erected
those several thousand tenants and
the many other persons who visit
that building increase and intensity
the congestion at and in the vicinity
of that building. Transportation Of
| people to and from that building and
| to other buildings in that neighbor
/ hood Is made much more difficult
| Ira transportation lines carrying people
to that building and into that neigh
borhoQd are given extra burden. If
| transportation lines to the neighbor
hood Of that building are already so
burdened during rush hours as to be
| retarded and somewhat stalled, the
| additional burden developed by the
| new building becomes "a serious mat
| ter for the transportation lines and
| for the people.
| At this time our Federal authorities
have before them the proposal to
| place group Of large public build
ings on the area bounded by Pennsyl.
vania avenue, Twelfth street. the
Mall and Fifteenth street. 1t Is well
to consider what effect that close
grouping of such buildings will have
| on street congestion and on transpor-
| tation OF people into that part of
| Washington.
The many workers who will occupy
those buildings are at present
scheduled to begin work at 9 o'clock
| and to leave work at 4:30 o'clock.
That makes two peak periods Of
| pedestrian and automobile and bus
and street railway movement Of peo-
pie. That movement will concentrate
| at that group OF buildings. 1t Is well
to try to forecast what conditions will
| arise from adding that traffic to the
| traffic already existing in that 10
| cality.
| The ideal location for a place en-
ploying such a large number Of peo-
pie Is a place from which long trans
| portation lines may radiate in all di-
rections into residence areas. The
proposed location for these new
| buildings IS not such q location. In
| some directions from that location
| there are no residence areas at all.
| Access to that location is one sided.
The approaches being thus limited,
| there is the more tendency to con-
| gestion in the approaches.
| Should not those buildings be dis
! tributed, in order that the transpor-
| tation burden may be divided? Should
| there not be distribution along Penn
| sylvania avenue and along 3 street
| between Fifteenth street and the Cap
| itol Grounds. a distance of one mile?
Should the e not now be made an
estimate Of AL public buildings needed
| during the next twenty-five or nfty
years and locations noted for such
| k,,il hn hpinCy chosen
with reference to convenient commu-
nication between buildings needing
such inter. communication and also
with reference to transportation or
| the workers and to accessibility by
| persons having business with the de-
partments or bureaus occupying the
| buildings?
As an example of convenient loca-
| ton, reference is made TO the Patent
| Office. There provision is made for
easy approach from all directions,
The f street and the G street car
| lines pass at opposite sides and eX-
| tend eastward to the Union station,
the Capitol, the Library Of Congress
and residence districts, and westward
! to and beyond the Treasury and the
| White House and distant residence
| areas. The Seventh street and the
| Ninth street railway lines extend
north and south at each side, reach
| ing many near and distant places in
| the city. Ample provision for auto
mobile traffic east and west and north
and south over long distances is made
| by Sixth. Seventh, Eighth. Ninth and
! Tenth streets. and D, E, F. G and II
streets and their connections.
| This same facility for approach
should be considered for all the public
buildings and attained as far as feas-
ible.
In connection with sthe location of
the group of public buildings now
under consideration, the problem Of
parking automobiles should be kept
/ in view. Are not the streets in that
vicinity now occupied to the limit by
/ parked automobiles? What is TO be
done with the large additional mum.
Der of automobiles in which the occu-
pants of the new buildings will seek
| to come from their homes?
!; CYRUS KEHR.
/