Evening star., 1945-10-20
Letters to The Star
Proposes Underground Garages
In Central Parts of City

To the Editor Of The STAR
1t has been obvious for some years,
and is all the more SO now with the
glimpse we recently have had of post
war plans, that the Federal Government
and the District authorities hope to
make Washington the most beautiful
city in America and as beautiful a city
as any in the world This is as it
should be. More and more attention
should and probably will be, given to
the Importance of the esthetic in the
lives of our citizenry.
Therefore, I believe Washington,
since it is the capital of the Nation,
should not only create noble buildings
and parks and bridges and stadiums, but
should be the first to tackle tie parking
problem with vision and courage.
The parking problem is one of the
most serious which faces our American
cities, and believe that San Francisco
is the only one which has undertaken,
in the construction of underground
public parking spaces, to solve the
problem in an imaginative way. From
the esthetic point of view, the problem
is much more serious in Washington
than 1t Is elsewhere, since no other
American city has so many beautiful
buildings and parks-and nowhere else
is the beauty of these buildings and
parks SO completely marred by the
long lines of jalopies which surround
them.
Although the problem is essentially q
practical one, the question OF the beauty
of our city is very much involved.
It is difficult to believe now that the
war emergency is over that we will
be parked all day long around the White
House, the Mall and the Federal Gov
ernment buildings and museums, or, for
that matter, on the side streets in the
shopping district. However, the prac-
tical side of the problem is a more
urgent one. 1t has now become practi-
cally impossible for any one driving to
the center Of the city to find place to
park. Nearly all places are taken by
all-day parkers. The public is going to
demand that something be done about
1t, and when we realize that the number
of cars In our streets may double within
a few years we also can envisage q traffic
or parking crisis of serious nature.
Offers Four Point Program.
The following is suggested as pos
sible solution TO the problem:
/. Construction of municipal garages
to be located at first only in central
parts of the city and to contain ample
storage space. both underground and
above ground.
2. These garages to charge standard
rate which for several years would cover
cost of maintenance plus amortization
of the funds needed for construction,
afterward the parking charge to be re-
duced to a minimum.
8. These garages to be built wherever
possible with an eye to beautifying the
city. to be architecturally in keeping
with the city's plans and to be built
wherever possible on the sites of the
remaining monstrosities of the era Of
bad taste. to be built, of course. with an
eye TO caring for the number of persons
employed in given districts and the ap-
proximate number of persons who visit
these districts-ie., a garage under the
Mall would probably provide ample
space for every one going to work in the
area between the Washington Monu-
ment and the Capitol.
4. AS soon as these garages are ready
to operate, municipal ordinance should
be adopted, forbidding parking except
for very limited periods within the CEN
trail section of the city. This ordinance
later could be extended to cover outlying
parts Of the city, although perhaps on
a more limited scale.
I maintain that such plan might
not only benefit the city greatly and
solye, to great extent, the parking
problem, but would also give temporary
employment to great number and
permanent employment to many.
Objections may be raised because the
proposal involves municipal competition
with private business If this is an OBJ
lection, let private firms construct the
garages and run them, provided they
are built where and as desired by the
municipality and provided that the cost
Of parking remains lower than it is at
present so that the general approval of
the citizenry can be obtained.
WARDEN WILSON.