Should South Lee and South Fairfax streets in Old Town Alexandria be opened into Jones Point Park to increase access to the planned recreation area?
That was the thrust of a meeting at Lyles Crouch School the evening of Oct. 27. Under the sponsorship of the Yates Gardens Civic Association, notice of the meeting stated, "City of Alexandria officials with Woodrow Wilson Bridge engineers, are now considering plans ... that include a new access road into the park and the construction of new parking lots in the park."
It went on to announce, "All the plans that have thus far been developed by VDOT for this purpose are unsatisfactory and would have a negative impact on the park and the residents of the Yates Gardens area ... Yates Gardens Civic Association is sponsoring a community meeting so that you can express your concerns regarding these flawed plans ..."
And that they did.
The consensus among the attending crowd was that there should be no parking within the confines of Jones Point Park, increased athletic facilities should be kept to a minimum, Jones Point Road should be open to only emergency vehicles, and only passive recreation uses should be the ultimate goal.
As summarized by Yvonne Weight, a YGCA board member, "We have to become energized by this to get involved with all facets of this problem. Work with us to develop a new proposal."
Richard Campbell, president, YGCA, said, "We don't want Lee or Fairfax streets open and we want the community gardens kept where they are. We are recommending to the city and the Park Service that they take the mitigation money and buy property for the athletic fields on Eisenhower Avenue. It works much better from a geological point of view and for city residents because it is more centrally located."
THE CITY RECEIVED approximately $65.5 million in mitigation settlement funds as a result of litigation early on in the Woodrow Wilson Bridge Project.
"Approximately $15 million of that money is going toward the rehabilitation of Jones Point Park," Richard Baier, director, Alexandria Department of Transportation and Environmental, told the audience.
Campbell, who specializes in environmental restoration, said, "When you get just one half inch of rain the park becomes unusable for athletic events." The area on the south side of the present Woodrow Wilson Bridge has traditionally become waterlogged following rain storms.
At the outset of the meeting Barbara Lynch, a longtime South Lee Street resident and former president of Old Town Civic Association, gave a brief history of the area and evolution of the park dating to the time of the existing bridge's construction in the late 1950s.
Lynch told Audrey Calhoun, superintendent, George Washington Memorial Parkway, U.S.Park Service, "Don't waste the public's money even looking at any access from Lee or Fairfax streets."
Calhoun spoke to the group because, "Jones Point Park is a national park which the city operates and maintains." Plans for future development of Jones Point Park were outlined as far back as 1985, she said. "Any change to those plans had to be approved by the Park Service," Calhoun said. Initially all parking for park activities were to be located under the new bridge when complete.
THAT WAS CHANGED by the events of Sept. 11, 2001, when federal security concerns overrode the original design concepts and outlawed any future unauthorized parking under the bridge. It also called for moving Jones Point Road at least 80 feet north of the new bridge abutments, if it was to be open to local traffic and not limited to emergency vehicle use only.
Since those new conditions were announced, parking within the park and access to that area have been the subject of various meetings of both the Woodrow Wilson Bridge Neighborhood Task Force and Stakeholders group. Six options have been brought forth, none of which has gained any citizen majority support.
In addition to traffic and parking, other concerns include the potential impact on the wetlands along the northern border of the park and the loss of mature trees and shrubs by cutting through a new road from South Royal Street to the proposed parking lots near the Potomac River.
An environmental assessment was released by the Park Service in 2001 prior to 9/11. "This was totally changed by the events of 9/11 and the elimination of parking under the bridge. We will be issuing a new draft environmental assessment. We have to go forward with at least three assessments," Calhoun said.
"Encroachment on the neighborhoods will be heavily weighed by the Park Service. But, I don't think 'no change' is an option," she said in answer to an audience question of why can't the park remain a passive recreation site.
When asked if there could be citizen representation on the Park Service environmental impact study group, Calhoun said, "We are prevented by law from having outside parties on any of our committees." But, she assured the group there would be "ample time for public comment after the assessment was released."
AT THE START of the meeting, William Barkley, Virginia Interchanges design manager, Woodrow Wilson Bridge Project, outlined six alternative plans presently under consideration to accommodate access to and parking within Jones Point. Each of these have been previously explained in depth, debated and contested at Task Force and Stakeholder meetings.
"All the alternatives carried forward so far are inside the park. And, all parking alternatives are the same as previously proposed," Barkley said.
He noted that "event parking" under the bridge was being considered. The reason is that this could be strictly controlled and monitored by extra security measures and personnel. "Each concept provides parking for 110 spaces," Barkley said.
"You have to look at all the opportunities. If there is no vehicular access to the park it will adversely affect the surrounding neighborhoods even more because people will be parking in those neighborhoods," said Kirk Kincannon, director, Alexandria Department of Recreation, Parks and Cultural Activities.
"City Council has to agree to any parking changes. There are several options we will look at as far as the city is concerned. But, we need at least 30 to 40 spaces [parking] per soccer field. We have to make our [Parks & Recreation] recommendation to Council by late November or early December," Kincannon said.
Campbell and Teresa Miller, YGCA past president and present board member, then explained the association's proposal for both parking and access to the park. "We tried to keep in mind all the comments from the neighborhood," Miller said.
"THIS PLAN CALLS for no additional parking in the neighborhoods and no parking in Jones Point Park except for special events," she said. The YGCA plan calls for parking along South Royal Street, across from St. Mary's School, and in a designated, newly created lot located between the present Royal Street Community Gardens and Jones Point Road. It also provides for a circular turnaround at the intersection of Jones Point Road and South Royal Street.
The proposed lot in the area of the present recycling center would accommodate approximately 75 spaces with additional spaces stretched along S. Royal Street to the intersection with Green Street to reach the maximum 110 spaces.
Most traffic coming and going to Jones Point Park to utilize the athletic fields will occur after 4 p.m., according to Park and
Campbell and Miller pointed out YGCA's plan would not have an adverse impact on St. Mary's School traffic since that normally dissipates prior to 4 p.m.
South Lee Street, at the south end of the 900 block, which was closed years ago to park vehicular traffic would remained closed and South Fairfax Street, at its present southern terminus, would not be opened. Both community gardens, along South Royal Street and just off Jones Point Road west of the wetlands, would remain.
According to a hand prepared map, the two athletic fields adjacent to Jones Point Road near the river were still shown.