Evening star., 1946-06-21
Need Of S60,000,000
Master Plan Subway
Disputed by Grant

MAJ. IeIl. ". .. 1rdnC Ill, Cnalf-
man of the National Capital Park
and Planning Commission, told re-
porters late yesterday he was sure"
Washington's mass transportation
problems can be solved more cheap
ly than by the 100000, 900 under
ground streetcar system called for
by District Engineer Commissioner
Gordon R. Young.
He said it was his opinion a re-
routing of streetcars, especially
those in the area bounded by Four
teenth and Fifteenth streets and
Pennsylvania and New York ave-
nues NV, plus construction of GER
tain underpasses might provide
almost as much relief as the more
expensive system envisaged by the
Engineer Commissioner.
He cited the danger of freezing
underground the same congestion
that now exists on the surface.
Further Parleys Suggested.
Further conferences should be
held by the District Highway De-
partment and transit officials to
determine whether plan less Ella
borate and costly than the two sub
way proposals made by out-of town
engineering consultants and local
highway officials would not accom-
plish the same results, Gen. Grant
suggested.
An east-west transit line on E
street NV, starting from the pro-
posed new Navy Department near
Twenty fifth and E streets NV.
and running underground between
Seventeenth and Thirteenth streets
should be considered In planning
transit improvements, he said Such
line, however, would not take the
place of other measures, he pointed
out.
| Additional use of buses, which he
described as far more flexible type
OF transport than Streetcars, might
be the answer to some problems,
Gen. Grant asserted.
| While he was critical of investing
$50, 900, 900 in underground facilities
until all other resources for reducing
congestion have been exhausted, he
said he wished to congratulate the
Commissioners for pooling their
proposed capital improvements into
one master plan and for advocating
that they be financed through Fed
eral loans bearing no interest.
Pledges Assistance.
He said he has not been given an
opportunity to study the master plan
now being released by Gen. Young,
but that after reading press reports
OF its provisions, he gathered a large
part of the program has received
the careful consideration of his
commission over the last 20 years.
He pledged the commissions help
to bring the plan to realization.
He did, however. take exception to
charges by Gen. Young that "a lack
of practical foresight on the part
of Federal agencies . has packed
buildings into an area adjacent to
the downtown section" Less than
40 per cent of the land area in the
Federal Triangle. to which he pre-
sumed Gen. Young referred, and
less than SO per cent of the building
sites actually are occupied by Gov
ernment buildings, he said.
Sees Resistance to Blight.
! If private interests had built there
under existing zoining regulations, he
] said, 100 per cent of the land would
have been covered with buildings on
corner lots and triangular lots and
80 per cent on interior lots. The
Government has built to seven stor-
les, whereas private business could
have built to 10 and II stories, he
explained.
He said the Government buildings
serve as an anchor against decen-
tralization of the downtown busi-
ness section which is costing other
American cities millions in lowered
assessments and tax receipts. The
area was originally blighted and the
blight was gnawing its way across
Pennsylvania avenue and into the
| present business section, he said.