Evening star., 1933-11-17
Park Commission Seeks to
Have Army Engineers Speed
Up FiIIing-in Work.
HOOVER IMPROVEMENT
Is ASKED IN MEANTIME
Traffic Lights Proposed to Minimize
Hazard of Planes Landing
at Capital Field.

The National Capital Park and Plan
ming Commission wants a permanent
airport for Washington constructed as
soon as possible at Gravelly Point.
1t reaf1rmed previous stands today
in announcing this decision and re-
quested the chief Of Army engineers to
proceed as rapidly as possible in filling
in the Gravelly Point area with material
dredged from the Potomac River.
Thomas S. Settle, commission secre-
tary. said his groups attitude is that it
would like to see the Gravelly Point
project speeded up, through funds of
the Public Works Administration or
other sources, with the Army engineers
filling UP the holes made in that area
through construction of the Mount YER
non Memorial Highway and excavations
made by commercial sand and gravel
companies They would also like to see
the locality the permanent airport for
the National Capital.
In reaffirming previous stands, the
commission recalled that the first &C
tion on this problem was set forth in
its 1882 annual report and that by
resolution it indorsed this on December
19, 1882.
The previously published proposal of
Eastern Air Transport to utilize East
EOIOIldC EdTk as an T6CelNeQ
commission attention, although the mat
ter was not officially laid before it, The
personal attitude of the members was
that this site. set apart for park pur-
poses, Is not feasible for use as a flying
field
Pending construction of Gravelly
Point Airport. the commission favors
improvement Of the Washington Hoover
Airport, by closing Military road, which
now cuts the area. and by installing
traffic lights on that highway imme-
diately to reduce the hazard of planes
interfering with vehicular traffic The
commission voted to cooperate with
the Department of Commerce, the War
Department and Arlington County. Va,
in drafting a bill for presentation to
Congress to close Military road and
provide suitable substitute.
The resolution of the board of Ar
hngton County. urging that stop lights
be placed on Military road Immediately
to regulate traffic when planes are
landing. was read at the commission
meeting Previously the commission
had urged that traffic lights be in
stalled and 1t stands ready to CO.
operate with the War and Commerce
Departments and other interested
agencies in bringing this about without
delay.
E w. James, chief Of the division
OF highway transport of the Bureau of
Public Roads, laid before the commits
sion a preliminary report on the
regional traffic survey that has been
going on for the past Two years in
Greater Washington and he emphasized
that bypass through highway around
Washington will double the traffic over
Chain Bridge
Mr.. James told the commission that
there are now $500 automobiles daily
using Chain Bridge, but that when the
projected Marva Highway to detour
through traffic along Western avenue
and over new Chain Bridge into Vir-
ginia is completed there will be prob
ly 5000 cars daily over the bridge The
commission members personally visited
Chain Bridge yesterday and went over
various routes, and this morning dis
cussed the whole problem and then di-
rected its staff and the co-ordinating
committee to give further study to the
entire situation.