| The first "finding"
starts out accurately: the road has been closed since 1991.
However, in nearly every other "finding", there is some
unfounded claim.
The Cropp bill finding (2)
"...the unfair burden that its closure to vehicular
traffic since 1991 has placed on other residential streets
in the District" The "burden" alluded to is
not supported by the voluminous traffic study from the
Berger Report, which concluded that "reopening Klingle Road
would produce negligible beneficial improvements to traffic
congestion or safety at surrounding intersections."
|
PDF
version of Chairperson Cropp's road bill |
Let's take a look at that "unfair burden." The best data on
this is using the
Berger report traffic study data. They studied the alternate
parallel routes to Klingle: Cleveland Ave, Woodley Road,
Cathedral Ave, and Porter Street, and made predictions for how
many cars would be diverted from them if Klingle were reopened.
By reversing it around, we can predict how much traffic was
diverted to these "unfairly burdened" roads. The average
rush-hour volume increased 7% on average
(see chart below). This "unfair burden" of a whopping
7% peak volume increase could be relieved for only $6.25 million
dollars over the cost of just a trail (assuming, as the Cropp
bill does that both a road and trail are built
and the cost of a required EIS). The
Cropp bill assumes that the only way to relieve this "burden"
would be to build a new road, however this is a dubious
assumption. It is more likely that traffic calming measures on
these residential streets would divert more traffic to the
arterials that are designed to handle it, and it would cost
considerably less than $6.25 million.
The Cropp bill finding (3) "...the adverse
environmental effects of traffic congestion is simply too much
of a problem in the District to allow significant public
thoroughfares -- whether they are Pennsylvania Avenue and E
Street adjacent to the White House or Klingle Road across Rock
Creek Park -- to remain closed to vehicular traffic without a
full and careful consideration of alternatives"
This "finding" is very misleading. Pennsylvania Ave and
Klingle have almost nothing in common except that they are both
in DC.
- Pennsylvania Ave carried about 10 times the
traffic that Klingle did.
- Pennsylvania Ave is America's Main Street, Klingle Road is
Northwest DC's storm drain.
- Pennsylvania Ave is in a vibrant commercial district
connecting high density areas, Klingle is a vibrant
wildlife area connecting lower density, single family home
areas.
- Pennsylvania Ave is an ARTERIAL road, Klingle is a
collector at best.
Furthermore, the closed section of Klingle Road does not
actually go "across Rock Creek Park." It connects to
Porter St. which does, but it is not a park crossing road, it is
a west side road.
Regarding Air Quality, the Berger Report concluded “It is
unlikely, that any build option would increase traffic, rather
existing traffic patterns would shift, and therefore would not
produce adverse short-term or long-term impacts on air quality.”
Cropp must have been reading the bogus
study paid for by the Roadies.
"a full and careful consideration of alternatives" has
been conducted - it is called
The Berger Report
The Cropp bill finding (4) "..Klingle Road
shall be restored to the public for vehicular traffic and
recreational uses, including a hiker-biker trail."
The simple fact
is that there is not enough room for both a two lane road and a
bike path within the current right of way. There is a long
section of the old roadbed where the right of way is only as
wide as the washed out road.
See a map of the Right-of-way from the Berger Report
here. The pro-road group has made claims of a "90 foot wide"
road right of way, but the right-of-way dimensions have been
well established by both DC and Federal agencies.
The DPW used the right-of-way geometry drawings from the 1991
construction documents to estimate the width of the right-of-way
within the washed out portion of Klingle Road. They found the
width of the right-of-way varies, but that no section of the
drawings indicates a 90 foot width right-of-way. Their
measurements from the drawings indicate that the right-of-way is
approximately 32 feet at its narrowest point and approximately
56 at its widest point. They have emphasized that these
measurements are estimates and a boundary survey would be needed
to determine the exact area and measurements. The road group has
been unable to produce any proof of their claim.
The National Park Service controls nearly
all the land surrounding the right of way. They have stated
unequivocally that they would not grant any expansion of the
right of way. Adrienne Coleman, the Superintendent of Rock Creek
Park, has objected to rebuilding a paved road in Klingle Valley
as “environmentally destructive” to trees and soil on NPS land.
"Use of park land for road or storm water purposes either in the
form of direct or indirect use would be environmentally
destructive, and therefore, cannot be permitted by the National
Park Service." Not only can the NPS stop any expansion of
the right of way, they can effectively
block federal funding of a road in Klingle Valley.
The Cropp bill finding (5) This clause adds in
everything from the Mayor's bill that is probably required to
build a road - including a Stormwater Management Plan, a
Stabilization Measures, and an Environmental Assessment. She
also includes the Mayor's plan for an East-West Transportation
Study to mitigate east-west traffic congestion, which will
probably have a more significant impact than rebuilding this
tiny road.
The only problem here is that the pro-road group has and is
lobbying against any public study of the issue, particularly
focusing their contempt on any environmental review (aside
from the ones they paid for, of course). They have opposed
an Environmental Assessment (EA), and any kind of Environmental
Impact Statement. For some reason they are afraid of what such
studies will discover and conclude. Their website details how
"unnecessary and
wasteful" the current EA is, and that "We have Rock Creek Park"
for the birds and wildlife. Their
website also says "DPW
has spent years conducting an unnecessary and wasteful
environmental assessment study of the road."
The threat that any studies pose to the Roadie plan is
substantial, and will probably be opposed by them,
The Cropp bill ends with "This act is
subject to the availability of appropriations"
DC Dept. of Transportation numbers show
that trying to accommodate both a recreational trail and a motor
vehicle road would cost around $6.25 million more than just a
recreational green space alternative (including the cost of an
EIS) , which may face a serious problem during appropriations.
It is equally clear that federal funds will not be available for
the road project due the to NPS objections that would
block federal funding of a road in Klingle Valley. Even some
of the so called "supporters" of the bill may balk at a price
tag that steep for the District.
With all these hurdles, it is questionable
whether the pro-road coalition will hold together, let alone
convince the lone swing vote, Sandy Allen, or any of the current
park supporters, to join it. Even in the unlikely event of
a council vote to rebuild the road, the Mayor has stated
unequivocally that he would veto it.
Analysis of impact to other residential streets from Klingle
Road
|
TABLE 1 Appendix D TRIP
SHARE PERCENTAGE CALCULATION (BASED ON 2000 TRAFFIC
VOLUMES) |
AM Peak Hour |
PM peak hour |
| |
Eastbound |
Westbound |
Eastbound |
Westbound |
|
Peak Hour Volumes on Klingle Road |
136 |
258 |
284 |
184 |
|
Diverted from Porter Street |
91 |
205 |
226 |
130 |
|
Diverted from Cleveland Avenue |
36 |
33 |
31 |
39 |
|
Diverted from Woodley Road |
5 |
10 |
14 |
7 |
|
Diverted from Cathedral Avenue |
4 |
10 |
13 |
7 |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
TABLE 2 - Appendix D
TRAFFIC DIVERSION FOR SCENARIO 1: KLINGLE ROAD REOPENS
WITH PREVIOUS ROAD CONDITION |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
Roadways |
Volume |
Volume |
Volume |
Volume |
|
Porter |
1687 |
1687 |
2033 |
1901 |
|
Cleveland |
1325 |
546 |
557 |
1125 |
|
Woodley |
167 |
167 |
245 |
221 |
|
Cathedral |
167 |
167 |
245 |
221 |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
Total Volume |
3346 |
2567 |
3080 |
3468 |
| |
4% |
10% |
9% |
5% |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
Percentage of volume "diverted" from
Klingle |
|
|
| |
AM Peak Hour |
PM peak hour |
| |
Eastbound |
Westbound |
Eastbound |
Westbound |
|
Cleveland Ave |
3% |
6% |
6% |
3% |
|
Woodley Road |
3% |
6% |
6% |
3% |
|
Cathedral Ave |
2% |
6% |
5% |
3% |
|
Porter Street |
5% |
12% |
11% |
7% |
|
Average volume |
7% |
|
|
|
|
