Evening star., 1934-10-19
To Eliminate Bottle Neck
Between Seventh and
Ninth Streets.
PATENT BUILDING STEPS
TO SOUTH TO BE RAzED
Districts Share of Cost Placed
at $40, ,000-To Be Paid Out
of Paving Finances.

After prolonged agitation by busi-
ness and civic interests, the widening
of F street to eliminate the trouble
some bottle-neck interfering with
traffic between Seventh and Ninth
streets is now to be undertaken with
P. w. A. funds.
To straighten out the kink In F
street at this point it will be neces-
sary to remove the south steps and
remodel he south entrance of the Pat
ent ONCE Building, long urged by the
District Commissioners and Govern
ment planners. An allotment of
100000 turned over to the National
Park Service by Secretary Ickes will
be sufficient to 90 all this work.
The National Capital Park and
Planning Commission was elated to-
day over the success Of its long strug-
gle to have this necessary work done
so that traffic might flow in two di-
rections on F street between Seventh
and Ninth streets, insteod of one-way
traftc as at present. One Of the first
acts Of the commission, when it as
sembled today for its October meet
AA4S1 Woo W A4oDC4 W d 1CPOlG 4LO1lk 4Io
executive officer, Arno B. Cammerer,
announcing that Secretary Ickes had
allotted the funds for the job.
Study Ordered In January.
At its September meeting, the COM
mission passed resolution directing
Mr.. Cammerer to confer with the
public works administrator with q
riarry IN l.
secured for the F street widening.
Last January. at the request of the
Fine Arts Commission, the planners
had their consulting architect, VIII
liam T. Partridge, draw up plans for
the widening.
Three plans were laid before the
commission, accomplishing the WIDEN
ing in progressive stages. The $780,
600 will eliminate the south steps of
the Patent ONCE entirely, said Thom-
as S. Settle, secretary Of the Plan
ming Commission today, explaining
that when the job is done the build
ing will look like the new structures
Of the Government along Pennsyl-
vania avenue, with the columns Wis
ible, but with no steps leading up to
them
The street car tracks will be in
the center of the street when the
widening of the street Is accom-
plished, officials explained, and it will
not be necessary to disturb them in
the process.
The widening Of F street from
about 80 feet to the 55-foot average
will not entirely remove the kink
at the intersections of Seventh and
Ninth streets, but it will greatly i'm
prove conditions at these two busy
points of traffic congestion.
1t was expected that the National
Park Service will turn over funds to
the District Highway Department to
do the street. widening job, but will
handle the Patent Office remodeling
itself in cooperation with the Ma
tional Capital Park and Planning
Commission.
While civic and trade bodies had
long urged the widening of F street
priation never has gone beyond the
Budget Bureau. The matter has been
before the Public Works AdminiStra-
tion for long period and Secretary
Lckes finally made inquiries to de-
termine the need for the work. At
the insistence Of the Planning Com
mission and Mr.. Canimerer, who is
director also of the National Park
Service, he finally consented to allot
100000 for the job.
District Cost $4,000.
The cost to the District of widening
F street between Seventh and Ninth
streets probably will amount to about
10000, it was estimated today by
Capt. H. C. Whitehurst, director of
Highways.
He said the cost would come out
Of the general paving funds Of the
District and that an allowance already
had been made in the Districts pro-
gram to take care of this.
Widening Of the street, he said,
will be delayed until after work is
completed on the revamping of the
south entrance to the old Patent ONCE
Building and it may be two or three
months before the street work is
started, he said. The north side of
the street, after changes are made,
will have a sidewalk and parking,
Capt. Whitehurst said. He plans to
leave the south curb where it now is.
The result may be that the street will
have width of 10 feet from curb to
curb. Engineer officials said the pres
ent plan does not contemplate a re-