Potomac Yard Metro and Mount Vernon Trail improvements

[lordofthemark]

@scorchedearth 114717 wrote:

The fact that it is a wetland does mean the land serves a purpose.

Sure it does, but the purpose is served equally well whether the land is owned by the City of Alexandria or by NPS. The City is not prevented from doing anything it would realistically do by transferring the land to NPS.

[chris_s]

@lordofthemark 114718 wrote:

Sure it does, but the purpose is served equally well whether the land is owned by the City of Alexandria or by NPS. The City is not prevented from doing anything it would realistically do by transferring the land to NPS.

The easement already precludes almost anything the City would want to do with the land. Transfer to NPS is almost a no-brainer. “Seriously, you want it? Take it!”

[mstone]

@lordofthemark 114718 wrote:

Sure it does, but the purpose is served equally well whether the land is owned by the City of Alexandria or by NPS. The City is not prevented from doing anything it would realistically do by transferring the land to NPS.

Exactly. NPS gets to say they got something, and Alexandria got rid of something they couldn’t use anyway. In either hands it’s just going to sit there. Sweet deal.

[PotomacCyclist]

Plus it enables the Potomac Yard Metro project to proceed, and “repairs” for the MVT get funded (by Alexandria). Kind of neat how all of this came together. I really thought that the entire project was going to be held up by the NPS because of the viewshed issue. But they ended up being smart about this, and trail users could potentially benefit, depending on what the improvements to the trail and Daingerfield Island turn out to be.

Based on what I’ve read so far, I have to applaud the NPS actions in the matter. Sometimes we beat up on NPS on the forum, but I will thank them when they do things like this.

[PotomacCyclist]

On a side note, this is a brief video clip from the WETA program “Origins of the George Washington Memorial Parkway”:

[video]http://watch.weta.org/video/2365441437/[/video]

[PotomacCyclist]

NPS and Alexandria employee celebration after the deal was reached on the Potomac Yard Metro location:

[video]https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=754888051227702[/video]

[Terpfan]

@scorchedearth 114717 wrote:

The fact that it is a wetland does mean the land serves a purpose.

The whole area was wetland before they built the GWMP there, but of course it serves a purpose as a wetland. My point was it served the city no purpose in terms of future use whatsoever aside from being swamp they were legally liable to maintain (not that I ever saw them back there, ever).

[mstone]

@Terpfan 114836 wrote:

The whole area was wetland before they built the GWMP there, but of course it serves a purpose as a wetland. My point was it served the city no purpose in terms of future use whatsoever aside from being swamp they were legally liable to maintain (not that I ever saw them back there, ever).

How on earth do you maintain a swamp?

[PotomacCyclist]

One example:

http://www.bae.ncsu.edu/stormwater/PublicationFiles/WetlandMaintenance2006.pdf

(I’m not an expert on wetlands. I just found this on a Web search. There are many other similar documents from other sources.)

[GovernorSilver]

The JBG Cos. on Monday unveiled a concept for the first phase of the North Potomac Yard overhaul..

http://www.bizjournals.com/washington/breaking_ground/2016/05/a-regal-goodbye-here-s-how-and-where-jbg-plans-to.html

[Author]

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