Evening star., 1951-12-15
Dispute Ba|ks
Silver Spring
Traffic Solution
Alternate Reroutinu
Ideas Split Federal,
Maryland Planners
By Nelson M. Shepord

Disagreement over ways to al
leviate the battling traffic conges
tions in Silver Spring and tn
north corner of the District, aros
again yesterday to block effort
Of Federal and Maryland plannin
officials to reach a mutual solu
ton.
Failure to fulfill an earlier as
surance to resolve the question
decisively" at the December plan
ming session resulted from al
afternoon discussion Of alternat,
rerouting plans. Only one poin
was agreed upon, admittedly tn,
least controversial. and decision OF
other major questions was post.
poned pending further study.
The one proposal indorsed by
the National Capital Park anc
Planning Commission was to ex.
tend Sixteenth street to under.
pass the Baltimore and Ohio Rail.
road tracks and connect with Co
llumbia road in Silver Spring. The
stumbling block arose over two
crossings of Montgomery County
tentatively favored by the Mary
land-NCPPC officials.
Study Recommended.
Federal planners, instead OF
agreeing to that proposal, urged
the Maryland commission to pro-
ceed with an immediate and con-
tinuous study of new highway
link joining the East-West high
way at the north end of the Dis
trict with Colesville road and
Spring and Anson streets.
NCPPC conceded the purpose of
the new link is to bypass the north
Silver Spring business district to
relieve the bottleneck at Georgia
avenue and Colesville road. Busi-
ness interests in the booming
Maryland suburb are opposed, and
SO is the Maryland planning
group.
Only last Thursday, the Mary
land-NCPPC voted against by
passing the Silver Springs busi-
ness district. Instead, they IA
vored extending East-West high
way across portion of the Dis
trict to Sixteenth street and Coles
vile road. This would relieve con-
gestion. they said, at the intersec-
tion Of Colesville road and the
East-West highway.
This is a bottleneck that has
confounded motorists for years.
The District Highway Department,
1t was reported, is strongly op-
posed to the two cutoff roads
across Montgomery County ia
vored by the Maryland planning
commissioners. NCPPC, after a
discussion of the routes, asked the
Maryland commission to recon-
slider its position and study the
proposed new link.
Points OF Agreement.
The two cutoff roads suggested
by the Maryland commission have
some points on which NCPPC Is
An tentative agreement, it was
understood last month.
One is cutoff from the pro-
5ected Washington-N National Pike
from a point west Of Grosvenor
lane and extending across Rock
Creek Park to the Prince Georges
County line at Oakview, near
Hyattsville.
The other one-and it is highly
controversial-would extend from
Sixteenth street along EASTERN
avenue to Blair road. Philadelphia
avenue and Sligo Greek parkway
to Prince Georges County.
The three Montgomery mem
tbers of the Maryland commission
had planned to attend yesterdays
meeting. Two of them were snow
pound in the county, along with
their staff members. The one COM
missioner who broke through the
snow was Donald E. Gingery, who
took part in discussions.
NCPPC members apparently
were in deferring mood yester-
day, for they postponed decisions
lon two other matters vital to the
District and, in the opinion of
Federal officials, to orderly plan
ming in Washington.
The long-discussed exit from
the approach to the projected East
Capitol street bridge from the east
was referred to the executive COM
mittee for further study. The
members are NCPPC Chairman
John A. Remon. Vice Chairman
Conrad L. Writ and Brig. Gen.
Bernard L. Robinson, District En-
gineer Commissioner.
Housing Project Involved.
The proposed exit from the in
tersection of East Capitol street
and Minnesota avenue would cut
through a portion of the Dupont
Dwellings. an established project
of the National Capital Housing
Authority. Various alterations
have been suggested to reduce the
number of dwellings that other
wise would have to be eliminated
or would be damaged by the road
way.
The second deferment was in
connection with the location of
the proposed Inner Loop freeway,
which would run from the High
way bridge to South Capitol street.
Because the route would pass
through the heart of the South
west redevelopment project, the
District Redevelopment Land
Agency wants to know the precise
route.
It would be unwise, it was said,
to redeyelop this area in the
Southwest without knowing how
it would be directly affected by
the freeway. Financing of the
slum clearance, it was explained
depends upon the decision.