Evening star., 1958-02-03
24O and the Potomac

The Maryland Roads Commission
should seek immediate conferences with
Federal park and highway of1lcials about
the use Of short portion Of the George
Washington Memorial parkway right
of-way for Route 24O between Cabin
John and the District line.
This course of action is virtually
demanded by the weight of testimony
at last weeks public hearings. In large
part, the testimony corroborated the
compelling reasons why a Potomac
River location Is the sensible Route 24O
solution. 1t meets the unique purposes
OF the Federal interstate highway sys-
tenn, as no other route proposal would.
It affords reasonable, manageable
measure Of traffic relief to Montgomery
County, and to existing radials into the
city. 1t provides route which makes
the crushing disruption and cost Of
every other propoSal-with satisfac-
tory alternative available along the
Potomac-uncon
Substantial opposition to this route
also was voiced at the hearings. It came
from Palisades residents who under
standably want to keep traf1lc in their
area to a minimum. We cannot agree,
however, that the four-lane 240 road in
Maryland, carefully designed, need be
appreciably more disruptive than the
proposed four-lane George Washington
parkway. It would be indefensible, Of
course, to consider that two parallel
freeways be built-Route 240 and the
parkway. The parkway purposes could
be served Just as well by 240, in the short
stretch necessary, through land already
acquired for four-lane divided road
way.
Much was made of the point that
parkway construction already has begun.
This, however, involves limited con-
tract Of land-grading for only two lanes
Of road. And work barely has started.
We can only conclude that the drive
behind the Park Services sudden squirt
OF activity was an awareness Of the
common-sense merits Of combining the
two roads.
We do not suggest that the Park
Service is likely to concede these con-
clusions. For Park Service policies in
Washington never have made the i'm
portant distinction between the func-
tionS OF metropolitan park systems,
designed to serve large concentrations
Of urban residents, and the great, open
wilderness areas of national parks in
the West. In fairness, however, park
officials should be informed Of the fac
tors involved in the 240 controversy.
Then, If their intranSigence is the only
factor which argues against the river
route, Congress should be asked by
Maryland, District and Federal road
officials to authorize it.
The public testimony provided over
whelming evidence that the So-called
Wisconsin avenue corridor" for Route
240 was the worst possible choice, on all
counts. Some of the same objections
apply also to River road. Likewise, the
new proposal to swing western Mont
gomery traffic far east of Rock Creek
Park to Silver Spring appeared to be a
hasty, ill-considered scheme, which
would intensity, not solve, the complex
issues at stake.
Maryland agencies are to be COM
mended for their conduct Of last weeks
hearing. Even more impressive was the
general excellence of the citizen response
whatever the point of view. The hear
ing was dramatic exhibit of the inter-
est and public concern that Maryland's
Route 240 decision be the right one.