ENROLLED ORIGINAL
A RESOLUTION
24-119
IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
June 1, 2021
To declare the sense of the Council that the National Park Service should close upper Beach
Drive to cars on a permanent basis.
RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this
resolution may be cited as the Sense of the Council Requesting the National Park Service
Permanently Close Beach Drive to Cars Resolution of 2021.
Sec. 2. The Council finds that:
(1) In June 2003, the Council passed the Sense of the Council on the National
Park Services Draft General Management Plan for Rock Creek Park Emergency Resolution of
2003, effective June 3, 2003 (Res. 15-122; 50 DCR 4906), in which the Council expressed a
preference that Rock Creek Parks roadways stay open to vehicular traffic in order to decrease
congestion on other major North-South routes in the District.
(2) The Peoples Alliance for Rock Creek (PARC) looked at the District
Department of Transportations Traffic Volume Maps prior to and during the 2017 to 2019
closure of Beach Drive for reconstruction to determine the closures effect on traffic. Data
collected by DDOT found that when upper Beach Drive was closed for reconstruction, forcing
commuters to make alternative travel choices, traffic volumes on the main alternative streets
declined from pre-closure levels. From 2015 to 2018, on 16th Street, the average daily traffic
count went from 34,600 to 29,300, and on Broad Branch Road, it went from 4,400 to 3,000.
Traffic on Connecticut Avenue also decreased, although by negligible amounts.
(3) The upper portion of Beach Drive, N.W., was closed to cars by the
Superintendent of Rock Creek Park on April 11, 2020, with the intention of leaving it closed to
cars until April 30, 2020, in order to allow District residents to use the road for socially distanced
recreation during the COVID-19 pandemic.
(4) Later in April, the National Park Service determined to leave upper Beach
Drive closed to cars until October 11, 2020.
(5) On July 14, 2020, at the request of a letter signed by 3 Councilmembers, the
Superintendent of Rock Creek Park decided to keep upper Beach Drive closed to cars for the
duration of the public health emergency and into the Districts recovery period.
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(6) Many District residents have found the closure of upper Beach Drive to cars
to be a safe and pleasant space for biking, walking, and enjoying the serenity of Rock Creek
Park.
(7) For 12 days over a 4-week period of the closure, PARC counted 28,741 non-
motor vehicle users of Beach Drive, averaging 529 per hour.
(8) The pandemic has given cities across the world a once in a lifetime chance to
rethink how public spaces are used and how they may be repurposed to best benefit residents.
(9) The return of cars on upper Beach Drive would eliminate the ability for
residents to use the space for biking and walking.
(10) In a public roundtable held on March 23, 2021, by the Councils Committee
on Transportation and the Environment, the vast majority of District residents who testified
supported closing upper Beach Drive to cars on a permanent basis.
(11) The District Department of Transportation stated at the March 23, 2021,
roundtable that, should the National Park Service decide to close upper Beach Drive to cars on a
permanent basis, it could ensure alternative routes to Beach Drive were sufficiently able to
absorb the resulting increase in traffic.
(12) District residents would be best served by the permanent closure of upper
Beach Drive to cars.
Sec. 3. It is the sense of the Council that the National Park Service should close upper
Beach Drive to cars on a permanent basis and if it decides to close upper Beach Drive to cars on
a permanent basis, ensure access remains for disabled persons.
Sec. 4. The Council shall transmit a copy of this resolution, upon its adoption, to the
Mayor, the Delegate to the House of Representatives from the District of Columbia, and the
National Park Service Superintendent of Rock Creek Park.
Sec. 5. This resolution shall take effect immediately.
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