Will E Street south of the White House be open for cyclists?

The United States Secret Service and NPS are going to decide if they should formally close the streets and sidewalks around the White House that were "temporarily" closed after 9/11 (via Lydia DePillis). They'll also study installing permanent security features and making

landscape and infrastructure changes to the area that respond to the street closures and re-design of security elements to ensure the iconic historic nature of the landscape that is the White House and its environs and an important destination for visitors.

While closing E Street is not something I support (it's as far away from the White House as H, which is not closed), if they insist on doing so, I hope they leave it open for bicycle traffic as they've done with Pennsylvania Avenue. It makes sense, since Penn is way closer to the White House than E.

Closing the streets isn't a done deal, and what things will look like afterward isn't either. Comments are due in 45 days. Supposedly you can comment here, but I'm not sure how.

Comments may be submitted electronically through the NPS' Planning, Environment and Public Comment (PEPC) Web site at http://parkplanning.nps.gov/PRPA (The NPS preferred method of receiving comments), or by mail to: Office of the National Park Service Liaison to the White House, 1100 Ohio Drive, SW., Room 344, Washington, DC 20242.

WABA, BAC and cyclists who might use an open E street should submit comments to this process. There is also a meeting this month.

During scoping, a public meeting will be held on Thursday, March 31, 2011, to present information and obtain input from attendees. The meeting will be held from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the White House Visitor Center located at 1450 Pennsylvania Avenue South, NW., Washington, DC. At the meeting, the NPS and USSS will describe the proposed actions and how the planning will be conducted, and NCPC will describe the design concepts competition it is conducting.

The EA will assess a range of alternatives establishing a permanent closure of E Street and associated roadways and the installation of re-designed security elements resulting in changes to the area, along with a no-action alternative for continuing the current closure using the existing, temporary security elements

Comments

[JTS]

That NPS website is a total joke!