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FAQ's Why a Park? The Environment Get Involved Current Events Contact
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The pro-road group is a loose coalition of single issue activists who are enraged that an important shortcut has been taken from them. They appear to feel that the need for this tiny road outweighs nearly all other issues the District of Columbia faces. We call them "Roadies" or "Pavers."
Their website (http://www.repairklingleroad.org) details their belief that the pro-park coalition of environmental and neighborhood groups is actually a conspiracy of rich and powerful neighboring landowners out to increase their own property values. They have also falsely claimed support from the Sierra Club and the Washington Area Bicyclist Association, at least one Councilmember, and other groups and individuals.
This 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.
The Roadie
website claims they are environmentally conscious, but says things
like "DPW
has spent years conducting an unnecessary and wasteful environmental
assessment study of the road."
Moderate environmentalists like DC Councilmember Phil Mendleson are
characterized as "consistently espousing the impractical views of radical
idealists." Before the 2002 election they said "Mr. Mendelson should be
denied the power to impose on his electorate an environmental agenda
tipped heavily in favor of an idealistic minority."
| Just how many of these activists have
children in one of the five upscale elementary and secondary schools at
the terminus of old Klingle Road is not known exactly. Those schools include the Washington
International School, Maret School, John Eaton School, Beauvoir
School, and National Cathedral School for Girls. Klingle did serve as
a very handy shortcut for well-to-do parents living on the east side
of Rock Creek with children in these exclusive private schools. Some of the activists are Cleveland Park residents who live on streets west of Connecticut like Porter who believe that traffic on their streets will be relieved by re-building Klingle Road. |
Paving Leader Laurie Collins |
The road advocates are getting some bad press for their approach to the whole debate. On WAMU's Kojo Nnamdi Show, the City Paper's Elissa Silverman said she is angry about the Roadies' tactics, characterizing the Roadies as obsessed. She says she lives in Mt. Pleasant and goes to Cleveland Park all the time, and Klingle Road "has not affected my quality of life one bit.... it is an alley, a little street." Hear 01/17/03 Kojo Nnamdi Show time 41:30-45:50
The pro-road group clams endorsements from many groups and individuals, some of which are valid, but many others are not. At the recent roundtable one of their claimed supporters spoke. Adams Morgan ANC (1C) Commissioner Josh Gibson talked about how the pro-road faction had presented a one-sided story to his ANC more than two years ago and convinced his predecessors to quickly pass a pro-road resolution before learning all of the facts about the issue. He said that when the commissioners later received additional information, ANC1C voted to reverse its earlier position and support the mayor’s plan for the trail. He complained that road supporters continue to misuse the ANC’s name by listing it on the pro-road website, and added that many other supposed “supporters” of the road actually “straw men” who have either already reversed their position or are ready to fall into the pro-park camp once given the chance to hear the very strong arguments for preserving Klingle as a city park and bikeway.
The process under which the road was closed in 1990 was certainly flawed, and pro-road activists point out that a permanent road closure in Klingle Valley (or Pennsylvania Ave for that matter) needs to be approved by the City Council. The unilateral pledge to close the road permanently by former DPW director Larry King overreached his authority, even though it was a practical solution at the time.
