National Park Service Weighs Changes to D.C.’s Beach Drive

The National Park Service (NPS) announced a tentative plan to open the upper portion of Beach Drive in Washington, D.C.’s Rock Creek Park to vehicular traffic during non-summer months, a decision that has brought criticism from multiple sides. As reported by Jordan Pascale in DCist, while some local residents worry about traffic diverting to their neighborhoods, pedestrian and bike advocates argue that opening the road to cars removes the road as a “car-free haven.” During the pandemic, the upper 4.3 miles of the road have been closed to through traffic, a change that many feel should become permanent. After all, “Beach Drive was originally designed as an internal park road to provide recreational access to the valley, according to NPS documents.”

According to a press release from the NPS, “The NPS sees the seasonal closure as the best way to protect park resources and strike a balance of different uses – whether visitors are walking, cycling, commuting or scenic-driving.” As Pascale notes, “More than 4,100 people weighed in during the comment period. The study was set to be released at the end of 2021 but was delayed for unknown reasons. Over 1,800 commenters asked for full closure for recreation while 343 people wanted it to return back to weekday through traffic.”

Addressing the traffic concerns, “A District Department of Transportation traffic analysis found traffic delays and impacts are predicted to be minor — an additional 2-5 minutes of travel time during rush hour on 16th Street — and could be mitigated with tools like adjusting traffic light timing and other measures.”

Garrett Hennigan of the Washington Area Bicyclist Association, who supports full year-round closure of the street to cars, said in a statement, “We are disappointed and frustrated that the National Park Service has dismissed the requests of the D.C. and Montgomery County Councils and instead prioritized moving cars and minimally reducing car congestion over its core mission of recreation and preserving natural spaces.” 

Like Beach Drive, other pandemic-area ‘open streets’ face an uncertain future as local officials grapple with opposing factions and resurgent traffic.