Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1963-06-30
TRANSFORMATION Crisis

Hs0BSkSOb SN@bSH SssSsS
It was inevitable from the beginning
that the bitter dispute over Washington
area transportation would end in the
lap of Congress. And the need now is
for cool heads to resolve the feud-not
perpetuate it.
We think this can only be doneS
however, II the congressional leaders OF
the various committees involved with
this problem will proceed in the coming
weeks on a simple premise: That the
controversy over highways and the con-
troversy over rapid transit are separate
issues, not competing solutions to the
problem of moving people in and out
of Washington.
Any rational analysis Of the travel
demands of the future, and Of the we'll
being of the Nations Capital, leads to
the conclusion that the Washington
area must have an efficient system Of
rapid transit. The most extensive sys-
TEN of freewayS alone would not suffice.
Congress should approve the legislation
which is necessary for the transit SyS-
TEN to get under way, and it should do
so this year.
We say this in the knowledge that
the National Capital Transportation
Agency, which proposed the transit plan
now before Congress, is largely respon-
Sible for the crisis now facing our high
way system. In it's unjuStified attacks
on the freeway program, the Meta in
vited retaliation against transit. For
whatever purpose, this was major
blunder, in which the agency persisted.
Our point, however, is that the bungling
of the officials responsible for this un-
wise decision must not be permitted
now to jeopardize transit system which
is essential.
Nor is it factually accurate, as
Chairman Fallon of the House Subcom-
mittee on Roads commented during
hearings last week, that the Meta
seems to be the bottleneck" at this
moment in a series of decisions which
have virtually halted WaShington's
equally important freeway program.
The White House took the Meta
off the hook a few weeks ago when the
President himself directed delay in
construction of the Three Sisters Bridge
and the Potomac River ExpreSSway until
a reappraisal is made of the northern
section of the inner loop, which would
be needed to connect with these facili-
ties. And it was the Federal Bureau
of Public Roads, as result OF this
action, which repeatedly may refuse to
advance funds to the District for the
central section of the inner loop until
the entire highway controversy is re-
solved.
What is to be done about these
highways? We think the proper course
of action is clear.
First, the central section of the
inner loop is largely non-controversial.
1t will be needed regardless of other
decisions on the road system and should
be permitted to proceed. If Congress
also is able to convince the adminiStra-
ton to relax its hold order on the Three
Sisters Bridge and the Potomac express
way, we think these projects also should
move ahead Immediately for certainly
they, too, are needed. If this were done,
the only critical issue left to be resolved
would be the location, character and
design of the north leg of the inner
loop. The engineering, eSthetic and
relocation problems involved in this
project all are difficult. But we are
confident that they can be solved. The
studies to provide the necessary answers
should be undertaken Immediately.