Kennedy Center Access to the Rock Creek Park Trail

NPS, the FHWA, the Kennedy Center and DDOT are considering modifications to the Kennedy Center's River Terrace to create direct access to the Rock Creek and Potomac Parkway Trail along the river. 

The purpose of the project is to improve access between the Kennedy Center River Terrace to the Potomac Riverfront. The action is needed because physical barriers and safety concerns currently discourage pedestrian traffic between these two resources.

Current Conditions along the trail

There are two alternatives in addition to the no-build alternative. 

Alternative B includes a pair of curved staircases with integrated elevators that would provide pedestrian access from the Kennedy Center River Terrace to the Potomac riverfront. At the bottom of the stair and elevator structures a landscaped plaza of approximately 13,100 square feet would be constructed of asphalt, concrete, or pavers and would tie into the RCPP Trail. The plaza would provide unimpeded accessibility to the RCPP Trail and the Potomac riverfront. Alternative B would eliminate a small portion of the strip of green parkland that currently provides a buffer between the RCPP Trail and the roadway and forms a continuous stretch of greenway along the Potomac River. 

Alternative B

Alternative C proposes the construction of a single formal staircase descending toward the Potomac riverfront perpendicularly from the Kennedy Center River Terrace. The staircase would span approximately 180 feet, the width of the Kennedy Center River Terrace between the Hall of States and the Hall of Nations. The proposed staircase would have an 85-foot run, and the plaza at the base of the staircase would be a maximum of 9,800 square feet. To accommodate the staircase and plaza, the existing sea wall would need to be relocated approximately 34 feet out into the Potomac River. Depending on the final design of Alternative C, the RCPP Trail would be routed behind the staircase along the RCPP or in front of the staircase along the Potomac River. Alternative C would include the construction of an elevator located at the junction of the north end of the River Terrace and the North Plaza. 

Alternative C

I would prefer the trail go in front of the stairs, but perhaps it could do both so that people can choose which they prefer. 

And the staircase(s) should have channels to allow cyclists to roll their bikes up. The last meeting on this was over a year ago, so I have no idea what the timeline looks like. 

Comments

[charlie]

what a giant waste of money.

Paving, some fancy lighting, and some landscaping are needed. The trail is so narrow at that point, and traffic so heavy at times I do ride off into the grass.

[JeffB]

I like Alternative C and predict that a grand staircase will be a popular place for people to sit and hangout.

Creating pleasant areas for people to enjoy the city is not a waste of money in my view and is one of the necessary functions of government.

However I would prefer that the trail go under the staircase and so avoid what is sure to be a heavy pedestrian congregation point on the river's edge.

[giveup]

i predict:

if they do anything it wont be before 2020.

the bicycle will be prejudiced against, as always at the NPS.

if there is a way to eliminate the bicycle from this redo, they will do so.

the NPS cant fix the small blunder they made at Pierce Mill...they cant address anything that requires foresight!! anything! consider the 14th street bridge horror...they cant and have NO timeline for repairing and repaving the LOUSY rock creek trial,in front of the zoo and elsewhere.

i have tried countless times over the recent years to get some sense of whats going on. the morons apparently dont speak english...

there is zero accountability-- which is ironic, given the rhetoric, isnt it?...

at the NPS talk to the actual workers -- they have NO respect, at all, for their white collar"superiors" who give the orders. the whole structure is toxic for democracy, and anything created that's high quality.

we truly are now solidly in an era of "third world USA"-- the roads, the schools, the tax code, the "justice" system, etc -- americans are arrogant morons, and nowhere is that more obvious when dealing with the bureaucratic functionaries in any government post. one simply cannot get a straight answer anymore. EVER! on ANY subject of concern!!

[Westnorth]

Yes, I would say that a speeding highway and a sheer marble cliff just might "discourage pedestrian traffic."

I vote to close RCPP and reroute the cars over to the empty stretch of I-66 on the other side of the Ken Cen. Then, a simple fireman pole would provide adequate access from the River Terrace down to the trail!

[M.V. Jantzen]

This is veering into GGW territory, but I'm surprised the plans don't seem to include space for a water taxi to take patrons to shows. Oh, and don't assume the NPS WANTS you to bring your bike up the stairs - I was yelled at recently for biking onto the South Plaza recently, even though it was completely empty.

That trail needs help for sure - it is often crowded. The margins are becoming so uneven as to be dangerous. It definitely needs to be widened.