Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1958-01-07

4
District for the sole reason that
Federal park ofiicials refused to
have the parkway and express
way routes combined.
Proposal "shortsighted"
The deep and tragic trouble
here" he said. rs that no single
agency In the District except
Congress can knock heads to-
gether and set sensible plans
carried out" He added that 1t
was foolish and shortsighted"
not TO combine the roads.
His position was strongly
supported by Joseph Barr. rep
resenting "a civic and business
groups in the Bethesda Chevy
Chase area who are opposed
to building the road along Wis
consin avenue.
The Wisconsin avenue route,
however. also had It's cham
pions, including 0rosvenor
Chapman. representing prop
erty owners In the $500 block
Of Potomac avenue NV. who
said Wisconsin avenue was the
right place because II IL where
the trafIic is."
Several organizations argued
that the circumferential ex-
pressway around the city should
be used to carry heavy trafiic
on the Federal Interstate sys-
tenn and that the city should
concentrate on improving
mass transit rather than trying
to bring the big 24o road into
Washington.
River Route Backed
In testimony last night the
bulk Of the testimony favored
q route hugging the Potomac
Palisades area from the District
/ line TO Georgetown.
| II they were not voicing this
preference afiirmatively. they
were condemnine the use. pro-
posed by some. Of the so-called
Wisconsin avenue corridor"
TO carry 240 from suburban
Maryland TO downtown WASH
ington. The route now is COM
pleted to q point near Pook's
Hill.
| Sentiment during the days
testimony ran predominantly
the other way. During those
hours. the residents OF the
Palisades community. through
which the riverside route would
run. had their inning. Aligned
with them was the National,
Capital Planning Commission.
The position OF the residents
boiled down TO a matter OF
keeping the interstate truck
highway out q their back
yards. NCPc ofiicials took the
rather more detached position
OF favorins the Wisconsin ave-
nue. alignment as the best
means Of serving the greatest
traffic demands. But they, too.
had q back yard" viewpoint.
The planners oppose any SUI
per highway that might en-
croach on the Gao Canal area
which they have marked for
parkway road development.
. Report Misleading"
Part OF the Palisades attack
was directed at a consultant
report fayoring the river route.
The speakers branded il as a
misleading and incompetent
effort" TO justify a decision
highway ofiicials already had
made in favor OF the river To-
cation.
Highway ofiicials denied
these charges to newsmen and
said their consultant. the
Clarkeson Engineering Co. of
Boston. was given "a COM
pletely free hand to study and
recommend routes of its choice
in the wide area between Rock
Greek Park and the Potomac
River.
The District Highway De-
partment. whose witnesses tes-
tined first. came. out strongly
in favor OF their engineer con-
sultant's recommendation for
the riverside route as cheap
est. least damaging property
wise and most effective trafiic
wise.
One OF the most vigorous de-
lenses OF the Potomac route.
however. was voiced by Mai.
Gen. Louis w. Prentiss. speak
ing for the Washington Board
Of Trade.
Lower Cost Cited
Gen. Prentiss. a former Dis
trict Engineer Commissioner
and now executive director OF
the American .Roadbuilders
+ Association. deviated from his
Board OF Trade statement to
urge the Commissioners TO con-
slider seriously the lower cost
OF the river route. He said the
city will be hard pressed A.
nancially to match Federal aid
funds for new roads and that
1.-The key 10 your trafiic prob
lem is sufiicient funds to build
the inner loop freeway net
work around the congested
4. downtown area"