Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-09-12
OVAL PLAN 0. KID
!. FOR DISTRICT LINE
Wisconsin Avenue Entrance
Park Proposal Wins Com
b mission Approval.
BY WILLIAM s. TARvER,

SILVER SPRING, Md, September IL.
The oval plan for portal park on
Wisconsin avenue at the District of Co
iunbia line was approved yesterday by
the NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. Capital Park
and Planning Commission.
What form the gateway development
to the Capital should take has beta
under discussion by planning and civic
bodies of Maryland and the District for
the better part OF year, and the deci-
sion yesterday followed intensive study
of oval, circle and square plans.
Consultations with Maryland civic or
esnizations, particularly the Monteom-
cry County Civic Federation and the
Bethesda Chamber of Commerce, showed
the oval plan to be favored by most OF
she residents of the vicinity and It was
cue largely to their wishes that the oval
form was favored over the two other
schemes.
Park Follows Wishes.
Construction of a park on Wisconsin
avenue at the boundary line between
Maryland and the District would be in
accord with the desire of the National
! Capital Park and Planning Commission
I u GI0DElllSil all JLiS Ildlil CIlLA dlSCo w
| Washington with developments suitable
to the dignity of the National Capital.
| Approximately three -fifths of the Wis
! consin avenue project would lie in the
! District and the remainder in Mary
( land. Irving c. Root, chief engineer OF
! the Maryland planning body, explained
! this morning. For this reason, approval
. of the oval plan by District authorities
/ must be secured before any steps look
ing toward construction OF the PARK
/ can be taken.
Several months ago the Co-ordinating
Committee of the District of Columbia,
! an advisory body to the National Capt.
tai Park and Planning Commission,
adopted the circle plan for the Wiscon-
sin avenue portal park. Mr. Root said
the Maryland commission is hopeful OF
influencing the Co-ordinating Commit
tee to reconsider its decision and in
dorse the oval form of development,
since one of the groups must give way
to the other and the Maryland plan
has the enthusiastic support of the
citizens residing in the neighborhood.
Width to Be $50 Feet.
The plan adopted last night calls for
an oval parking in the center OF the
/ intersection of Wisconsin avenue, West
ern avenue and Military road. The de-
velopment would have. an overall width
Of $50 feet. with an oval panel in the
center $50 feet wide, encircled by 60
foot drive.
There would be no roadway through
the center of the park and traffic would
be rerouted to skirt its sides. The cen
ter panel probably would be HANDICAPPED,
Mr. Root declared.
He said that adoption Of the oval
plan largely was the result of the ef-
forts of President j. j. Miller of the
Bethesda Chamber of Commerce and
B. W. Parker, chairman of the cham
ber's Park and Fairgrounds Committee.
Mr.. Parker owns most of the land in
Maryland needed for the development
and has promised the Planning Com
mission to dedicate this tract If the
oval plan is given the final approval of
tie county commissioners and District
Z authorities.
Oflcials Of the Chamber Of Commerce
are hopeful of persuading the county
commissioners to include the cost of the
development in their appropriation to
finance the paving and widening of the
west side of Wisconsin avenue, which
probably viii take place next Summer,
Mr.. Root said.
Permits Easier Trafic Flow.
The principal advantage of the oval
plan over other forms, as set forth by
members of the Chamber of Commerce
and Civic Federation is that it Will per-
nit easier flow Of north and south traf-
fic along Wisconsin avenue, as well al
, presenting a more artistic appearance
! They point out that the east and west
. traffic on Western avenue and Military
/ road is so slight as not to constitute I
real problem.
Capt z. N. Chisolrn, fjr., engineer o
4 the National Capital Park and Plan