Evening star., 1952-12-08
Big Buses Held
Threat 10 Homes
In Georgetown
Old Houses Shuken
BY Present Vehicles,
Commissioners Told

Georgetown residents descend.
ed on the Commissioners today to
charge that their historic homes
are being shaken to pieces by
buses.
The large delegation from
Georgetown protested the plan Of
the Capital Transit Co. to put
king buses on routes through
that section. Everybody who testi-
fed said the present buses are
causing the houses to vibrate.
The Commissioners heard the
protest during the public hearing
on the transit company request
to place the larger buses in serv-
ice on five additional lines. They
are Glover Park-Trinidad, Ana
costa Congress Heights, Takoma-
Petworth express, P street-Le.
Droit Park and HIP crosstown.
The Glover Park and P street
lines go through Georgetown.
Buses Can Seat 81.
Capital Transit now operates
the big buses on Sixteenth street,
Benning road and Connecticut
avenue. They are 4 feet longer
and 6 inches wider than the nor.
NAL buses. They seat 81 people
IN contrast to the 40-and-44-seat
capacity Of other buses.
After the hearing ended Com
missioner r. Joseph Donohue said
the matter probably would be re-
ferred to both the. Citizens Ad-
visory Committee and the Traffic
Advisory Committee for study be-
fore any action Is taken.
The Georgetown attack was led
by George A. Horkan and other
members of the Progressive Citi-
zens' Association of Georgetown.
Mr. Horkan outlined the COM
plants which were that the big
ger busses would create additional
traffic problems, reduce parking
spaces and add to the noise and
vibration of the old homes.
He warned that the damage be-
ing done in Georgetown right now
may lead to lawsuits against the
District as well as the transit
company. He. cited a. Supreme
Court case in which the Federal
Government was held liable for
damage to a farmers chickens
because of low-fying planes.
| Griffith Backs Protest.
Clark Griffith, owner of the
/ Washington baseball club, showed
up as an unexpected ally of the
Georgetown residents. He lives
on Sixteenth street where the big
busses are currently used.
IF the people in Georgetown
get them," he declared. they're
going to lose all of their sleep.
They're noisy"
Jess B. Bennett, one Of tho
numerous witnesses called by Mr..
Horkan, said that Georgetown
people have created the atmos-
Iphere of a quaint and charming
village. He said the houses had
two structural weaknesses, how
ever.
Most of them are built almost
on the street." he said. They
must absorb the earth-shaking
vibrations of these Buses"
He said the second weakness
was that the foundations and
outside walls of most of the homes
were the original ones. "These
houses can't take the punishment
bound to result if larger buses
go laundering by" N
Paintings Shaken OF Wall.
Mr.. Bennett said he had cracks
in his walls from the vibrations
and that twice in the past year
large oil paintings had been
shaken from the wall by Capital
Transit vehicles.
This same complaint Of exces.
Isive vibration and noise from pres
ent buses was expressed by other
Georgetown residents. including
Admiral John Heffernan. Rear
Admiral c. r. Train. Mrs. VOL
colt Waggaman, H. M. Nelson,
Mrs. Robert Henry Dunlap, Mrs.
Elizabeth T. Sullivan and Mrs.
Harold B. Hinton.
Mrs. Hinton spent some time
discussing "the decline of Capital
Transit Co. as public utility and
its rise as public nuisance"
She said the larger buses would
/c r,r,@r,r,