First, let me dispense with the important and obvious points:
1) If you do not live in the Washington D.C. area, this message might be of little importance to you.
2) How does this pertain to classic bicycles? Well... the flat 3.2 mile loop road in East Potomac Park (i.e. Hains Point) is a great favorite of classic bike riders. For one thing, it is one of the few places in the city where you can safely ride a brakeless track bike. So you see a _lot_ of people riding laps on their old track machines. For example it's the one place, other than the Lehigh Valley Velodrome, where I've ridden my LeJeune track bike. And this past weekend I bumped into list member Bill Hale down there (figuratively, that is) as he was turning laps on his 1970s era Falcon track bike. Additionally, it's a great place to ride that old PX-10 with the 13x19 freewheel. I know I've seen several of you down there on those bikes that should otherwise be traversing the roads of the Netherlands.
OK, so here's the story. East Potomac Park (including Hains Point) is under attack by the very people who should be preserving it as a recreational area for the residents of D.C. and the nearby suburbs. Here's a link to the article in last Friday's Washington Post. Many cyclists missed its significance because it had the somewhat misleading title "Designers Reimagine the Mall". (Note that you might have to register to read the entire article. If so, you can contact me off-list for a copy):
http://www.washingtonpost.com/
The gist of the article is that there are already plans to remove what cyclists value in East Potomac Park and replace it with a complex of memorials, buildings, beaches and _stores_ These plans are farther along than you might think from the mere text of the article. If you look into the entire story, you will see a number of architect's renderings which show new bridges, roadways, etc.
This sort of thing isn't merely "whipped up" in just a couple of days. The architectural firms in question clearly have had a significant amount of time to work on plans and dream up statements that purport to explain their "visions." Based on those quoted in the article, I can safely say that your interests will not be served. Witness the following excerpt from the article: "But Feldman and the designers said they want to integrate recreation into their plans. They talked about swimming areas, a national skateboard park, a national putt-putt course, walkways, water canals and bike paths." I have no doubt that any bike paths included in such a design will be the sort that are unsuitable for riding at speeds above eight miles per hour.
For me, the beauty of the loop at East Potomac Park and Hains Point is that cyclists of all speeds, skaters of all speeds, runners, walkers, motorists, picnic-ers and even tourists can all co-exist. That will not be the case if the plans described in the article come to fruition.
I believe it is important to voice our concerns to the National Park Service, National Capital Planning Commission, the National Coalition to Save Our Mall (whose name may be something of a misnomer), the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts and our elected representatives.
Now... I did check with Dale before posting this long message but I ask you to please keep further discussion of this off-list. Thanks, Fred Rednor - Arlington, Virginia (USA)
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