Record of Determination for a Partial and Temporary Closure of a Portion of Parkland Southwest of the Intersection of Connecticut Ave NW and Calvert St NW

Pursuant to 36 CFR 1.5(a), Rock Creek Park, a unit of the National Park Service, is temporarily closing a portion of park land southwest of the intersection of Connecticut Avenue NW and Calvert Street NW to protect public safety during the staging of equipment for pedestrian safety improvement work on the Taft Bridge. Specifically, from 7:00 am Monday March 3, 2025 through 5:00 pm Friday October 30, 2026, the grass area southwest of the intersection of Connecticut Avenue NW and Calvert Street NW will be fully closed to all public use. Pedestrian traffic on the paved pathway in this area will be temporarily detoured to the existing sidewalks paralleling those streets. The closed areas will be accessible only to National Park Service employees, employees of the District Department of Transportation (DDOT), and approved DDOT contractors. The temporary closure of this grass area and pedestrian pathway is necessary to protect public safety. Less restrictive measures are not possible given the need to close the area to protect public safety during work to improve pedestrian safety on the Taft Bridge.

Accordingly, the National Park Service has determined publication as rulemaking in the Federal Register is unwarranted under 36 CFR 1.5(c). The partial and temporary park closure and public use limitation is consistent with hundreds of other temporary park closures, the legal opinion of the Office of the Solicitor, and judicial adjudications. ANSWER coalition v. Norton, No. 05-0071, (D.D.C. January 18, 2005, Mahoney v. Norton, No. 02-1715 (D.D.C. August 22, 2002), plaintiffs’ emergency motion for appeal for injunction pending appeared denied Mahoney v. Norton, No. 02-5275 (D.C.Cir. September 9, 2002) (per curiam); Picciotto v. United States, No. 99-2113 (D.D.C. August 6, 1999); Picciotto v. Lujan, No. 90-1261 (D.D.C. May 30, 1990); Picciotto v. Hodel, No. 87-3290 (D.D.C. December 7, 1987); Speigel v. Babbitt, 855 F Supp. 402 (D.D.C. 1994), affd in parr wlo op. 56F. 3d 1531(D.C.Cir. 1995), reported in full, 1995 US App. Lexis 15200 (D.C.Cir. May 31,1995).

Pursuant to 36 CFR 1.7, notice of this temporary and partial closure will be made through public outreach and by the posting of signs at conspicuous locations in the affected park area. Finally, pursuant to 36 CFR l.5(c), this determination is available to the public upon request.

Brian D. Joyner
Superintendent