EVENT INDUSTRY
This piece from Liz Farmer at the The Examiner came out yesterday and details some of the changes that we will be faced with in working on the National Mall.
While the NPS is planning on re-sodding and adding irrigation, they also plan to fence off the entire area to visitors and tourists between events. They are also reducing the size and number of total events on the grounds.
While this was a unanimous vote from the committee, I am very interested to see if it will warrant public outcry from visitors, locals and taxpayers. There is a big debate in the iconic National Parks about use and rights (snow machines in Yellowstone, etc), but this is first time I can remember a park being restricted from walkers, runners, sunbathers, and picnickers. It will be fascinating to watch this unfold.
By Liz Farmer
It may be America s front yard, but that s not stopping the National Park Service from fencing it off.
The Park Service wants to enclose the National Mall s grass squares that run down the center of the Mall between the Washington Monument and the Capitol to protect the annual beating the turf takes.
The enclosure is part of a new plan for the Mall that is designed to limit wear and tear on the high-traffic grounds as well as provide more public amenities for the more than 25 million people who visit every year.
NPS spokesman Bill Line said Thursday the fence would be taken down for protests and special events but otherwise would remain up year-round to allow the ground to recover.
That means residents and tourists must take their sunbathing, picnics and pickup games elsewhere. Line said there are other open spaces on the Mall like by the Washington Monument where people can do those activities. Also, the NPS supports softball fields, volleyball courts and a rugby pitch near the Mall.
There s a balance there, he said. That would be an area that would be fenced off, except for First Amendment events, so as to purposefully keep the area green as best as we can.
The plan for the Mall was approved unanimously by the National Capital Planning Commission on Thursday and also includes a plan to limit the space protest organizers and event planners will have to work with. To protect the row of elm trees standing between the pedestrian pathways and the museums, tents and other event equipment will be limited to the center grass area.
That means events like the July Smithsonian Folklife Festival, much of which is set up in the shaded section of the Mall near the Smithsonian Metro station entrance, will be moved to the unshaded center.
The plan also calls for pedestrian pathways to be paved and an irrigation system to be installed below the entire surface of the Mall. The center grass panels would be dug up and replaced with new soil and sod.
The majority of the Mall is so densely compacted with foot traffic it is more highly compacted than concrete, Line said. So hence, not a big surprise that it s difficult to grow grass.
The plan also calls for improved amenities for visitors such as more bathrooms and concessions stands. The Washington Monument also would be reopened in the evenings throughout the year.
Linking the Mall to different forms of transportation like the D.C. Circulator bus and the new Capital Bikeshare program are also in the plan.
*Photo by flickr user Yotut