Act now to protect Rock Creek Park!

PLEASE NOTE NEW COMMENT DEADLINE OF TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 28.

To find out what you can do to help, visit PARC's website: [
http://www.saverockcreekpark.org/ ]http://www.saverockcreekpark.org/.
Then click on "Take Action"

Dear Friend of Rock Creek National Park:

After nearly ten years of public input, the National Park Service has
decided what to do about the future of Rock Creek Park: almost nothing -
or perhaps even worse!  Barring a last-minute reversal, NPS will adopt a
"general management plan" (GMP) that puts automobile commuter traffic
squarely ahead of recreation and environmental protection.

Despite overwhelming public comment in favor of weekday car-free
recreation zones along Rock Creek, the Park Service has decided to keep
Beach Drive open around the clock on weekdays. Instead, NPS plans to
implement controversial traffic-calming measures such as speed humps or
speed tables.  The result, according to some cyclists and skaters, could
be even worse than the status quo.

But we still have a fighting chance during a final comment period now
underway through February 28.  Please join the People's Alliance for
Rock Creek (PARC) and the Washington Area Bicyclist Association (WABA)
in protesting the decision, and urge the Park Service to adopt a plan
that includes weekday recreation.  For example, "Alternative D-1," would
close one segment of Beach Drive for recreation for six hours each day
and offers an alternative route within the park.

The Park Service's year-end decision represents a complete reversal from
its 2003 draft GMP in which the preferred alternative included three
midday recreation zones on Beach Drive on weekdays - the same three
sections that are currently closed to motorists on weekends.  NPS
buckled to pressure from vocal neighborhood activists and politicians
who cited fears of increased traffic on residential streets.

Another approach advocated by PARC and WABA , called "Alternative D-1"
would close just one segment of Beach Drive between Military Road and
Broad Branch.  This segment of Beach Drive,  does not have a parallel
bike path and offers an alternative automobile route entirely within the
park, yet this alternative was dismissed out of hand as "premature" by
NPS.

The final GMP document acknowledges that part-time closure of Beach
Drive to traffic for recreation is "environmentally preferred." Yet,
with virtually no explanation, the final GMP chose a plan that relies on
traffic calming measures to slow traffic, called "Alternative A."

As if to please recreational users, the Park Service announced that it
plans to maintain the popular weekend recreation zones on Beach Drive.
But even that promise rings hollow, since speed humps and tables will
surely be an unwelcome intrusion for many cyclists, skaters, and
strollers.  Can you imagine learning to skate or ride a two-wheeler on a
road with speed humps?

Help us keep the pressure on the Park Service to make the Rock Creek
Valley available for recreation on weekdays!  To find out what you can
do to help, visit PARC's website: [ http://www.saverockcreekpark.org/
]http://www.saverockcreekpark.org/.  We'll make it easy for you to send
hard-hitting comments to NPS over the Internet, and it takes only a few
minutes.

Be sure to send in your comments by February 28!  Thanks for your
support!

Sincerely,

Jim McCarthy
Coordinator
People's Alliance for Rock Creek

Eric Gilliland
Executive Director
Washington Area Bicyclist Association

PLEASE FORWARD THIS MESSAGE TO OTHERS WHO LOVE ROCK CREEK PARK!