Evening star., 1940-11-19
Parking Space
To Cure City
Ills Advocated
Meeting Receives
Experts Remedy for
downtown Disease

downtown Disease
The Washington of the future ma,
be one equipped with downtown
terminal automobile parking facil
tiles and decentralized business area
planned as to parking space so tina
they will be Well-balanced ma.
chimes" for the efficient service @
local residents
These were the solutions in pros
pect today for Washington's parking
problem as result of a mass meet.
Ing Of Washington's governing
planning and parks officials as wei
as civic leaders and automobile
association members held last night
at the United States Chamber OF
Commerce. Purpose of the mass
meeting was to explore the problem
of arreSting downtown disease" in
the Nations Capital.
Gordon Whitnall of Los Angeles
field consultant of the American
Society of Planning Officials and a
recognized expert in city planning
first traced the rise of downtown
disease" then told Of current efforts
to overcome it and last pointed out
the direction in which a permanent
solution may lie.
Sees Auto Bringing Change.
The central business portions OF
all American cities, he said, are
undergoing a process of disintegra-
ton and decentralization. This is
due, he said, to the fact the cities
were designed for pedestrian and
mass transportation traffic and CAN
not take care of an automobile borne
or fluid" population.
He took Los Angeles for q guinea
pig" city and traced the rise Of
downtown disease" there, saying
that it was paralleled more or less
closely in other cities. The only
difference, he said, is that the time
lapse between cause and effect in
young, fast-growing Los Angeles is
far less and more easily perceived.
Tax assessments of the central
business district of Los Angeles, he
said, show that values have steadily
gone downward Faced with de-
creasing business, he said, firms in
the center of the city are either
moving out to buildings where
large part of the emphasis is placed
on parking facilities or else are
spending large sums Of money to
provide them in town. AS a solu-
ton to downtown disease" he ad-
vocated mixture of carefully
planned public and private termi-
nal parking facilities, coupled with
protected by-passes to keep
out through trafflc.
convenience Law" Governs.
He said the decentralization proe-
ess was natural and should not be
discouraged. He added that down.
town property values were over
inflated and that the decentraliza-
ton process followed natural law
in the face of which none could
successfully fly-the law of con-
venience.
Mr.. Whitnall was questioned by q
panel composed of John Nolen, jr.,
director of planning for the Ma
tional Capital Park and Planning
Commission; j. C. Nichols of Kan
sas City, Mo-, real estate member OF
the Park and Planning Commis-
sion; P. Y. K HoWat, chairman
of the Highway and Bridge Com
mittee of the District of ColllIn-
bia Council of the American Auto
mobile Association; Engineer Com
missioner Col. David McCoach. jr.;
F. Stuart Fitzpatrick, chief of the
civic development department of the
United States Chamber of Com
merce; Irving C. Root, executive
officer and engineer of the Mary
land National Capital Park and
Planning Commission; John Ihlder,
executive officer of the District AL
ley Authority; Col. Christopher B.
Garnett, chairman of the Arlington
County Planning Board, and Harry
K. Boss, Washington realtor ana
representative of the Washington
Real Estate Board.
The panel was stage managed
by Col. Alvin B. Barber, member
of the Executive Committee of 100
on the Federal City of the American
Planning and Civic Association,
+ while Frederic A. Delano, chairman
OF the Park and Planning Com
mission and chairman of the Com
mittee of 100, was master of cere-
monies.
4 Questioned on By-Passes.
Members of the panel attempted
to apply. through questions, Mr..
B Whitnall's generalitiess on Los An
, peles to the Washington picture.
( Questions from the floor followed
those from the panel.
Mr., Nichols asked if by-passes,
such as the proposed Fort drive,
would not alleviate acute down.
town traffic conditions. He was
answered In the Affirmative. but the
answer was qualified in that Mr..
Whitnall specified that such by
passes must be protected by several
hundred feet of park land or the
came "disease" would aff1ict them as
the downtown areas.
!. Mr.. Howat asked If washington
did not differ from other cities due
to the Government buildings at its
! center, thereby creating fixed CEN
i ter. Mr.. Whitnall said the Gov
ernment buildings and the COM
mercial life of the city were un-
4 connected and that public build
4 ings of all kinds were 'lethap to
l business districts.
Il. Mr.. Howat asked If combined
/ public transportation facilities and
marginal parking lots combined
would not cure the ''disease" Mr.
WhitnAl said they might If provision
were made to prevent the same evil
conditions from growing up around
these junction points.
"a Secs Depreciation rs 'Natural."
r. Mr.. Root said he feared deprecia-
tion in central areas. Mr.. Whitnal]
said that such depreciation was a
natural effect and the "headsup''
assessment of new areas would make