Environmental Assessment for The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Expansion Connection Project

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (Kennedy Center) is proposing a pedestrian/bicycle connection between the Kennedy Center and the Rock Creek Paved Recreation Trail. Components of the project partially fall within the Rock Creek and Potomac Parkway (RCPP), which is under the jurisdiction of the National Mall and Memorial Parks (NAMA), a unit administered by the National Park Service (NPS). The National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC) is reviewing the project under its authorities specified in the National Capital Planning Act (40 USC § 8722 (b)(1) and (d)). Therefore, in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the NPS and NCPC acting as co-lead federal agencies have prepared the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Environmental Assessment (EA) in cooperation with the Kennedy Center to examine the environmental impacts of the proposed Kennedy Center Expansion Connection project. Concurrently, the agencies have been conducting consultation in accordance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA). This documentation also include the Assessment of Effect for review.

The purpose of the proposed project is to provide a safe pedestrian and bicycle connection between the Kennedy Center and the Rock Creek Paved Recreation Trail and to improve access and create a public waterfront link to and from the Kennedy Center, the Potomac River waterfront, NAMA, and the surrounding vicinity. Under the proposal, the NPS would transfer jurisdiction of a portion of NPS administered property and certain air rights to the Kennedy Center. The project is needed because there is no direct access to and from the Kennedy Center to the east, or southeastward to Rock Creek Paved Recreation Trail, NAMA, and the Potomac River. The only pedestrian/bicycle access from the Potomac riverfront to the Kennedy Center is provided by a series of crosswalks across F Street NW and the RCPP, approximately 0.25 miles north of the south parking garage. This lack of a direct and convenient path not only limits visitors' access to both NPS and Kennedy Center amenities, but also creates a disconnect between the Kennedy Center, which is the United States' living memorial to President John F. Kennedy, and those other presidential memorials found within the National Mall. Creating a more direct and convenient link would benefit visitors to the Kennedy Center, NAMA, the Rock Creek Paved Recreation Trail, and the Potomac River waterfront by providing a convenient and logical pedestrian/bicycle connection and expanded interpretation opportunities of the area's presidential memorials.

The EA is being made available to the public for review for a period of 30 days from March 23, 2016 through April 25, 2016. A copy of the EA is available for public review at the following locations: The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, The National Capital Planning Commission, Martin Luther King Jr., Memorial Library and West End Library.

The preferred system for receiving public comments electronically is through the NPS Planning, Environment, and Public Comment (PEPC) website, where the EA is publicly posted on the internet. The website address is http://parkplanning.nps.gov/KennedyCenterConnection. You may complete a comment form online. From the list of projects, click on the Kennedy Center Expansion Project. In the left menu, click Document List, then March 2016 Environmental Assessment, and Comment on Document.

Written comments may also be mailed to:

Mr. Tom Whitaker,
Interim Vice President of Facilities
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
2700 F Street, NW
Washington D.C. 20566

Mailed comments must be postmarked by April 25, 2016 to receive consideration.

Document Content:

Kennedy Center Expansion Connection Project Final Draft EA.pdf   (39.6 MB, PDF file) Appendix A - Coordination and Consultation.pdf   (4.6 MB, PDF file) Appendix B - Floodplain Statement of Findings.pdf   (1.7 MB, PDF file) Appendix C - Assessment of Effects.pdf   (5.2 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.