Exclusive "Klingle Valley" trail opens, victory for NIMBYs. Sad.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I agree OP. We are moderate conservative Republicans living im DC. We love our neighbors , but basically spend a lot of time laughing privately at limo liberal hypocrisy. I enjoy any green space, but can see how the impact on traffic flow has been detrimental to other above ground cross streets. Nothing to be done now except perhaps vote for more political variety so the limo liberals dont have a lock on things?

+1 though take out the moderate part plus I grew up on the road. It was used heavily and was much the talk of the neighborhood in the 80s as to how to get it closed. The limo liberals wanted it closed and all they had to do was encourage the city to fail to repair for a decade. Due to heavy traffic and poor water drainage it was done for.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree OP. We are moderate conservative Republicans living im DC. We love our neighbors , but basically spend a lot of time laughing privately at limo liberal hypocrisy. I enjoy any green space, but can see how the impact on traffic flow has been detrimental to other above ground cross streets. Nothing to be done now except perhaps vote for more political variety so the limo liberals dont have a lock on things?

+1 though take out the moderate part plus I grew up on the road. It was used heavily and was much the talk of the neighborhood in the 80s as to how to get it closed. The limo liberals wanted it closed and all they had to do was encourage the city to fail to repair for a decade. Due to heavy traffic and poor water drainage it was done for.

Please. They just let the incompetent DC gov't of the 80's run its course.

[Anonymous]

Nice overview of the debate for those newer to the area: http://wamu.org/story/17/06/23/trails-tribulations-took-27-years-build-klingle-valley-hiker-biker-trail-rock-creek-park/

[Anonymous]

I agree OP. DC is lacking in east west corridors. This was a victory for the nearby property owners at the expense of the rest of DC.

[Anonymous]

Except for this canard that the trail is inaccessible to persons with disabilities and seniors. I walked the trail yesterday and saw a number of senior walking (and a few biking). As for disabled persons, the grade is steep in parts (but less than your average Seattle or San Francisco hill), but it is paved the entire way. It's accessible to persons with motorized wheelchairs.

[Anonymous]

I hear you OP, however this was sealed in the 80's/90's as Time Russert and friends effectively forced the city ot not maintain the road and choke off the east (read: Black) residents from getting to the west more easily.

And while I am sure there will be a few POC on the trail annually, this is a huge victory for NIMBYs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I agree OP. DC is lacking in east west corridors. This was a victory for the nearby property owners at the expense of the rest of DC.

Thirty years ago, there wasn't as much in terms of restaurants, stores and services east of Rock Creek Park as there was (perceived to be) west of the park. All that has changed a lot, so the notion that people needed this cross-town link for essential services is bogus. Wags did call it the 'private school highway', as it provided a fast short cut for Mt. Pleasant parents to reach WIS, Maret and the Cathedral schools. It seems like spending huge sums to build a road to modern standards (with wide shoulders, concrete decking over the creek, etc.) wasn't worth it for a private school shortcut.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I hear you OP, however this was sealed in the 80's/90's as Time Russert and friends effectively forced the city ot not maintain the road and choke off the east (read: Black) residents from getting to the west more easily.Ko

And while I am sure there will be a few POC on the trail annually, this is a huge victory for NIMBYs.

How exactly did they 'force' the city? There were scores of public meetings and hearings, with the "Roadie" side very vocal, along with the pro-environmentalists. Klingle was an issue in several council races, albeit probably a minor one. In fact, the council first voted to rebuild the road and finally reversed course several years later when the council composition changed and folks realized how much it would cost. The sheer cost of building a board west of Rock Creek (in fact, the portion of Klingle in question is not an east-west road, but rather connected with Porter St west of the park) convinced council members even like Marion Barry to vote against an expensive road that would benefit a relative few.

[Anonymous]

I am relatively uninformed but saw in the article that it isn't accessible to seniors and people w/ disabilities--can someone elaborate on this?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree OP. DC is lacking in east west corridors. This was a victory for the nearby property owners at the expense of the rest of DC.

Thirty years ago, there wasn't as much in terms of restaurants, stores and services east of Rock Creek Park as there was (perceived to be) west of the park. All that has changed a lot, so the notion that people needed this cross-town link for essential services is bogus. Wags did call it the 'private school highway', as it provided a fast short cut for Mt. Pleasant parents to reach WIS, Maret and the Cathedral schools. It seems like spending huge sums to build a road to modern standards (with wide shoulders, concrete decking over the creek, etc.) wasn't worth it for a private school shortcut.

Wilson is not a private school. Cleveland park always had a commerical corridor, and there are a lot of medical practices WOTP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I hear you OP, however this was sealed in the 80's/90's as Time Russert and friends effectively forced the city ot not maintain the road and choke off the east (read: Black) residents from getting to the west more easily.Ko

And while I am sure there will be a few POC on the trail annually, this is a huge victory for NIMBYs.

How exactly did they 'force' the city? There were scores of public meetings and hearings, with the "Roadie" side very vocal, along with the pro-environmentalists. Klingle was an issue in several council races, albeit probably a minor one. In fact, the council first voted to rebuild the road and finally reversed course several years later when the council composition changed and folks realized how much it would cost. The sheer cost of building a board west of Rock Creek (in fact, the portion of Klingle in question is not an east-west road, but rather connected with Porter St west of the park) convinced council members even like Marion Barry to vote against an expensive road that would benefit a relative few.

One word. lawsuits.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree OP. DC is lacking in east west corridors. This was a victory for the nearby property owners at the expense of the rest of DC.

Thirty years ago, there wasn't as much in terms of restaurants, stores and services east of Rock Creek Park as there was (perceived to be) west of the park. All that has changed a lot, so the notion that people needed this cross-town link for essential services is bogus. Wags did call it the 'private school highway', as it provided a fast short cut for Mt. Pleasant parents to reach WIS, Maret and the Cathedral schools. It seems like spending huge sums to build a road to modern standards (with wide shoulders, concrete decking over the creek, etc.) wasn't worth it for a private school shortcut.

Wilson is not a private school. Cleveland park always had a commerical corridor, and there are a lot of medical practices WOTP.

Yup. And connecticut Ave predated 14th St and Petworth.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am relatively uninformed but saw in the article that it isn't accessible to seniors and people w/ disabilities--can someone elaborate on this?

What article?

I walked on the trail yesterday and was envisioning my dad (in his 80s, walks slowly with a cane and needs frequent breaks) walking on the path next time he visits. He would consider the path accessible. It is fully paved, and there are numerous benches for resting. The path has a steeper grade at the bottom (toward Mount Pleasant), so we wouldn't walk that part. I'm guessing that he would make it about 1/3 to halfway down the path from the top, and he could easily make his way back, slowly, stopping to rest on benches.

Given the grade at the bottom, elderly people, those with crutches or manual wheelchairs, young children on bikes, and adults on bikes who are out of shape may want to stick to the top half of the path. I don't think people in motorized wheelchairs would have difficulty, however.

[Anonymous]

Just a guess: most of the folks who wanted this to be a road for cars also don't want to have their taxes raised one dime for road projects in DC. Stuck in a line of cars at Porter and Connecticut, you curse at the others in your way, always failing to acknowledge that <B> you <B/> are part of the traffic. And the only time you pay attention to issues that might affect lower income people or minorities is when they also (or primarily) inconvenience you.

Have any of you road-warriors ever rented a pavillion in Rock Creek Park? Walked a portion of the park that doesn't start in Chevy Chase? If so, you'll see that many of the park's users are black and Latino. So weird that you think only rich white people like trails and green space.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree OP. DC is lacking in east west corridors. This was a victory for the nearby property owners at the expense of the rest of DC.

Thirty years ago, there wasn't as much in terms of restaurants, stores and services east of Rock Creek Park as there was (perceived to be) west of the park. All that has changed a lot, so the notion that people needed this cross-town link for essential services is bogus. Wags did call it the 'private school highway', as it provided a fast short cut for Mt. Pleasant parents to reach WIS, Maret and the Cathedral schools. It seems like spending huge sums to build a road to modern standards (with wide shoulders, concrete decking over the creek, etc.) wasn't worth it for a private school shortcut.

Wilson is not a private school. Cleveland park always had a commerical corridor, and there are a lot of medical practices WOTP.

There are certainly other, closer routes to Wilson across Rock Creek Park (which parents and students have utlized for the past 28 years!). Porter, Tilden and Military/Nebraska are all closer to Wilson. In fact, as was pointed out earlier, Klingle didn't actually cross RCP. It just connected with Porter of the west side of the Park on one end, and at the other end connected via Woodley to Reno almost one half-mile south of Porter and over a mile south of Tilden.