Evening star., 1941-02-21
Rock Creek
BridgePIans
To Be Drawn
Parks Body Moves
For Survey Of Traffic
Needs to D. 6. Line


bridge and road construction in
Rock Greek Park appears certain
of completion in the next few
months.
The National Capital Park and
Planning Commission, at its MONTH
ly meeting yesterday, requested tbs
District, the Office of National Capt.
tai Parks and members of its own
staff to form a committee to draw
up recommendations for addi-
tional high-level, e-level
and low-level bridges across Rock
Greek and its surrounding park
land and for the extension of the
Rock Creek and Potomac parkway
from its present terminus at the
south boundary of the Zoo north to
the District line.
The survey. commission spokes-
men said yesterday, was authorized
by Congress in the 1910 District of
Columbia Appropriation Act under
a $4,000 item. Since then. 1t was
said a number of alternative plans
have been worked out by the COM
missions staff, the District Highway
Department and the local parks Of
fee, but no single plan has been
chosen for final recommendation to
Congress. Z
Now, they said a definite plan Of
action is to be presented.
Sees Need of Bridges
For number of years the Plan-
ming Commission and the Highway
Department have recognized the
need of additional high level bridges
in upper Rock Greek Park to pro-
vide cross town traffic connections
which take through travel from nar-
row park roadways. For instance,
Thomas S. Settle, commission secre-
tary said, the absence of sufficient
cross-toWn bus routes is largely due
to the fact that antiquated low-level
bridges at Klingle road. Tilden street
and Military road NV will not bear
the weight of heavy vehicles.
The Planning Commission, in the
past, has recommended two high
level bridges, one at Military road in
the vicinity of oregon avenue to
Kennedy street NV. and another
from Tilden street to Taylor street
NV. 1t also has recommended a new
and more substantial bridge at the
Klingle road crossing of Rock Greek
at the north boundary of the Zoo.
Several Routes Proposed.
I A number of routes have been pro-
/ posed for a extension of the Rock
/ Greek and Potomac Parkway north
/ to the District line to take traffic
/ from Connecticut avenue and Six
| teenth street.
/ One plan has as its most unusual
feature a tunnel under the Zoo.
Roughly these plans fall into two
groups: those which would take the
/ extension along the bank of Rock
/ Greek along the line of existing roads
/ and those which extend the park
way up either or both sides of the
park.
Indications are that members Of
the commission favor the latter
method. According to one Of these
plans, which was revealed by sources
outside the commission, the park
way would split into two parts in
the vicinity of Blagden avenue NV.
and run along both sides of the
park. thus reserving the center Of
the park for recreational purposes.
The commission today was to con-
slider a plan prepared by Capt. H. C..
Whitehurst for the widening and
repaving Of Pennsylvania avenue
Sc. from Eleventh street to the
new Sousa Bridge, highway i'm
prOvementS in the vicinity Of Ar
lington Memorial Bridge, progress
to date on adoption of new building
height amendments to the District
coming laws. additions to the right
of way of the George Washington
Memorial Parkway and plans for
its extension to Fort Washington,
Va. and plans for the west central
heating plant and the new General
Accounting Office Building.
Before recessing yesterday the
commission took under advisement a
request from Milo Christensen, new
co-ordinator of recreation in Charge
of the District Community Center
and Playground Department, for a
playground for white children in the
neighborhood of Twenty-third and
P streets NV; heard from John
Nolen, jr.. its director of planning, to
what extent national defense hous-
ing projects in Washington are being
co-ordinated with the commission s
plans for the city. and considered
plans for the approaches to the
Jefferson Memorial and the extern
sion of Independence avenue S.W.
to the Potomac River.
The commission approved plans to
extend independence avenue to the
Tidal Basin, and requested the once
of National Capital Parks to work
out construction costs The pro-
posal involved relocating or doing
away with the old Bureau of En-
craving and Printing Building which
stands in direct line with the pres
ent terminus of the avenue to the
Potomac River.
So far. plans for extending the
avenue to the river contemplate q
low bridge carrying it across the
northermost corner of the Tidal
Basin This plan, however, has not
been definitely chosen.