Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-07-21
18TH STREET PLAN
DELAY PROTESTED
Business Mems Association
Adopts Petition Urging
Widening This Year.

A formal petition voicng an urgent
protest against the action of the Dis
trict Commissioners in delaying until
March Of next year the work Of widen
ing Thirteenth street from J. street TO
Massachusetts avenue, which has
been authorized by Congress and for
which an appropriation now is avail
ahle. was adopted late yesterday by
the Thirteenth Street Business Men
Association and will be presented 10
the city heads tomorrow.
delegation headed by Ross r.
Andrews president of the ASSOCIATION,
win urge the Commissioners to pro
coed Immediately with thls widening
nroiect. which was halted sometime
ago because of protests Whlch arose
over the necessity for removing tne
shade trees. The contract Tor the
Thirteenth street project has been let,
It was pointed out, but the ac.ua.
work was postponed until next year
tn give Congress an opportunity 10
review the situation.
Calling attention to the TACT that
the property owners along tnat pol-
ton of Thirteenth street when was
recently widened to 40 feet pore Az
per cent of the cost of that proJecl
with the understanding that the pro-
gram would be completed TO Mas
sachusetts avenue, making the street
a part of the arterial highway SYSTEM
members of the association In the Pc
tition adopted yesterday declare the
nresant narrow portion of the street
constitutes a serious traftlc menace
Declared Traffic Menace.
TRAFFIC conditions between Mas
sachusetts avenue and I street are
serious menace to the travelling pub
lie" the petition declares, "lnasmuch
as southbound traffic. now passes
through a narrow street and is dls-
charged down a steep hill into street,
which is a one-way street, ana tnen
into a wide thoroughfare, which
makes it extraordinarily hazardous.
The danger of this traffic situation,
members of the association asserted,
is heightened by the fact that the one
wav traffic on l street is eastbound,
thus giving it right of way over tra1-
nc coming down the Thirteenth street
hill
In answer to the protests when
have been voiced against the cutting
of shade trees along the streets pro-
iected for widening, the association
declares that 1.-The trees now standing
on the unwidened portion of Thir'
teenth street are a hit or miss va
riety and in such a Scared and dis
eased condition that if the street was
not to be widened, it would be advls-
able to replant them at once.
ut was understood that the widen
ing of Thirteenth street to l was
preliminary to the widening of the
thoroughfare all the way to Massa-
chusetts avenue" the association
points out, 80 as to constitute Thir-
teenth street an arterial highway to
link with K street and Massachusetts,
avenue on the north and with Penn
sylvania avenue and the Mall on the
south.
Protest Heavy Loss.
"Unless this program is carried out,
the net result to the property owners
on this street is one of detriment only
and a heavy loss to their business in
terestS.
Congress at the last session direct
ed that this street should be widened
all the way to Massachusetts, avenue
and appropriated the money needful
therefor, and the survey has been
made for that purpose, and the new
director Of traffic has gone on record
in favor of traffic signal lights on Thir-
teentl1 street between E street and
Massachusetts avenue.
IF the Commissioners neglect or re-
fuse to carry out the mandate of Con-
gress until after the reconvening there
of, the probability is that the appro-
priation viii lapse. and in any event
Congress is not likely to give any
further consideration to matter upon
which they have favorably acted"