Banneker Park Environmental Assessment

The National Park Service (NPS), in cooperation with the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC), and in collaboration with the District of Columbia (the District) and Hoffman-Madison Waterfront, is proposing to construct a temporary connection at Benjamin Banneker Park (Banneker Park) that includes a stairway and Architectural Barriers Act Accessibility Standard (ABAAS)-compliant ramp to provide universal accessibility between Tenth Street, SW, and Maine Avenue, SW, along the southwest waterfront. This project is considered temporary because anticipated redevelopment along Tenth Street, SW, as envisioned in the SW Ecodistrict Plan, may necessitate a permanent connection at this location in the future. Also, Banneker Park is listed as a "prime" site in the Memorials and Museums Master Plan (NCPC 2011) and could therefore be the site for a future museum or commemorative work.

This Environmental Assessment (EA) describes three alternatives for the proposed connection, including two action alternatives and the no-action alternative, and analyzes the environmental consequences of implementing the alternatives.

The purpose of the project is to provide a safe, functional, and aesthetically pleasing temporary connection to improve connectivity and access between Tenth Street, SW, and the southwest waterfront.
This project is needed because currently there is limited pedestrian and bicycle access between the waterfront, Tenth Street, SW (also known as the L'Enfant Promenade), the National Mall, and surrounding areas. Improved pedestrian and bicycle access between the National Mall and the waterfront has been envisioned since the development of the National Mall Plan in 2010. This plan, prepared by NPS, recognized that improved connections are needed for pedestrian and bicyclists between the National Mall, surrounding city and transportation networks, and the waterfront (NPS 2010). More recently, in 2013, NCPC accepted the SW Ecodistrict Plan in an effort to create a sustainable and more livable urban environment within southwest DC (NCPC 2013. As part of the SW Ecodistrict planning process, the SW Ecodistrict Task Force, led by NCPC, developed design concepts for the Tenth Street, SW and Interim Banneker Connection (NCPC 2015). Improved pedestrian and bicycle access as described in the SW Ecodistrict Plan, the Programmatic Design Concept Summary for the Tenth Street, SW and Interim Banneker Connection, and the National Mall Plan, affirms the need for a connection between the waterfront and the National Mall at Banneker Park.

Document Content:

Banneker Park EA.pdf   (4.1 MB, PDF file) Disclaimer: Links within the above document(s) were valid as of the date published. Note: Some of the files may be in PDF format and can be viewed using the Adobe Acrobat Reader software. You may download a free copy of from Adobe Systems.