Evening star., 1953-03-01

WdO11A11S UO11AdA1o WC1C IA SOO
yesterday to join the fight in
Montgomery County against the
use of Rock Creek Park for a
super-highway.
A statement issued by the Citi-
2ens' Action Committee for Fair
Highway Planning criticised the
Maryland State Roads Commis-
sion for its plan to build a six
lane thoroughfare through a part
Of the park in the Bethesda
Chevy Chase area.
The statement described the
plan as folly" and said such a
road would destroy property
values take land needed for
schools and recreation and still
fail to solve traffic problems.
Public spirited citizens and
associations in the District Of
Columbia should realize that our
fight against the proposal is their
fight as much or even more than
1t Is ours" the committee said.
Partial Text.
The partial text Of the state
ment follows:
"The Maryland State Roads
Commission has approved and
commenced work on the first leg
Of a super. siX-lane highway for
commercial vehicles which will
come into and use Rock Creek
Park in Maryland with the ulti-
mate purpose of forcing the op-
ening of Rock Creek Park
through it's length in the Dis
trict of Columbia. This is de-
fined as the southeast branch of
Highway 240.
Insult to Communities.
1--WE protest this serious pro-
posal, not only for its folly and
needlessnesS. but for these fur
ther reasons:
Because it is an insult to our
communities and destructive of
real values;
Because it would constitute
wasteful expenditure Of public
money and would not accomplish
the traffic purposes alleged to
prompt its building;
Because it is taking vital
acres from school grounds, de-
stroying recreation sites and
threatening highly developed
Fairgrounds.
I'VE are certain that if the
interested people and associa-
tions in the District of Co.
lumbia were to solidly protest
use of Rock Creek Park for any
thing other than recreational
purposes. and were to make it
clear that to use it for a speed
way and truck route would be
accomplished only after a long
and bitter struggle. it would find
the Maryland highway authori-
ties abandoning their demands
in support of Highway 240 by any
route between Wisconsin avenue
in Maryland and the center Of
Rock Creek Park on East-West
highway. For, without prospect
of getting all the way into WASH
ington with this speedway
through Rock Creek Park, the
Southeast Branch of Highway
240 would find itself dead-ended
at EaSt-West highway.
Secrecy Is Protested.
I'VE protest the secretiveness
Of the Maryland State Roads
Commission in it's promotion Of
the southeast branch of High
way 240. The commission kept
well covered, until recently, its
plans in connection Herewith,
changing the planned location of
the route at least twice and
thereby catching many authori-
ties and communities off guard
when their final plans became
known. It dared to deceive the
Maryland General Assembly as
well as the people of Lower
Montgomery County respecting
the final choice of routing for
this highway.
1T now asks the General AS
sembly for authorization and ap-
preparations for it's general road
program, including Highway 24O,
yet at times the same commits
sion has indicated that it already
has the money required to build
this branch of the highway. It
has represented that this route
was scheduled for very early con-
struction under it's program, yet
in a more recent moment it
maintains that it has no plan to
come farther than Wisconsin
avenue at this time, leaving the
route from there into Rock Greek
Park to be undertaken perhaps
as long as IL years hence.