WASHINGTON — The National Park Service has proposed closing the upper portion of Beach Drive in Rock Creek Park in an effort to protect natural resources and improve recreation.
The upper portion would be closed to cars from Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day every year, as the summer season often brings more people out to enjoy the park. It would remain open to drivers when many tourists and nature-lovers retreat in the chillier months.
According to Chelsea Sullivan, a public affairs specialist with the National Park Service, the seasonal closure would include Bingham Drive (0.43 miles), Sherrill Drive (0.34 miles) and Beach Drive (4.28 miles) in three sections:
- From Broad Branch Road to Joyce Road,
- From Picnic Area 10 to Wise Road, and
- From West Beach Drive to the Maryland boundary.
Between Joyce Road and Picnic Area 10, Beach Drive would remain open to motorized vehicles only to access group picnic areas and parking lots. Ross Drive would always be open to cars, she specified.
The proposal is a compromise for both sides of the Beach Drive debate, where some locals have advocated since the 1980s to permanently close the area to cars, including some DC Councilmembers. Others have expressed concern over the ramifications for commuters and traffic getting backed up into surrounding neighborhoods, according to Julia Washburn, the Rock Creek Park Superintendent with the National Park Service.
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In late April 2020, the NPS temporarily expanded the closure of the upper portion of Beach Drive to increase socially distanced recreational opportunities for pedestrians and cyclists. The Park Service said that the 2020 closure provided a "valuable opportunity for park visitors to recreate more freely and safely within Rock Creek Park."
“Rock Creek Park provides endless opportunities for outdoor recreation, exploration and relaxation in the heart of Washington, D.C.,” Washburn said. “The preferred alternative is a compromise that will allow us to best protect natural resources, while providing access to this beloved area of the park to the greatest number of visitors.”
The Park Service is also inviting the public to review the Environmental Assessment (EA) and share comments through Aug.11. As part of the assessment process, the NPS analyzed the potential for the proposed closures to impact visitor use and experience, transportation and safety, historic districts and cultural landscapes, and wildlife and habitat.
"The EA acknowledges that while a seasonal closure for recreation could delay motorists and increase travel times to key park sites or through the park in the summer, including during peak weekday travel times, these impacts would not be substantial," the service said in a release.
They stated that based on a traffic analysis performed in collaboration with the District Department of Transportation, traffic delays and impacts are predicted to be minor.
NPS notes that delays could be mitigated with tools like adjusting traffic light timing, adding signals and stop signs and implementing traffic calming measures.
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the service said that traffic on the upper portion of Beach Drive varied between approximately 5,500-8,000 vehicles per weekday. By comparison, the Rock Creek and Potomac Parkway averaged approximately 50,000 vehicles per weekday.
In 1966, NPS limited driver access to Beach Drive on Sundays between Joyce Road and Broad Branch Road to allow pedestrians and bicyclists to use the road exclusively for the first time. In the early 1980s, the NPS expanded non-motorized use to include Saturdays and federal holidays and extended the closure north to the Maryland state line.
If the new proposal is implemented, the NPS will monitor the effects of a seasonal closure. Based on changes to the condition of park resources and the visitor experience, the service will consider whether to expand or reduce the closure in the future.
The upper portion of Beach Drive will remain closed until a final determination is made later this year.
The Park Service has stressed that public participation is vital to their planning process and shared that, during the previous 45-day public comment period, the NPS received more than 4,100 individual comments sharing a range of thoughts and suggestions.
"We invite the public’s continued interest in this issue, and we look forward to the conversation. Learn more at https://parkplanning.nps.gov/beachdrive."
Those who would like to have their voice heard are also invited to the Park Service's live, virtual public meeting on July 18 from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Click here for information on how to participate.