The jersey barriers and metal fencing between the White House’s south lawn and the Ellipse are coming down, but federal and District officials made it clear Tuesday that maintaining security was a top priority in the planned redesign of the E Street and Ellipse. Members of the National Capital Planning Commission heard presentations from five designers that proposed more landscaping around a new E Street pedestrian promenade for visitors taking in the view of the White House’s south lawn and strolling around the Ellipse.
“It’s quite sad to see visitors get to the barriers and not understand why they can’t have that view,” said Gary Hilderbrand during his presentation of the proposal by the Massachusetts-based firm Reed Hilderbrand.
The challenge? Creating tasteful design elements that keep the several levels of security in place, which at times can include blocking off access to half the Ellipse when the Marine One helicopter is landing on the south lawn.
Commissioners pointed out that Reed Hilderbrand’s proposal, which envisioned planting more trees to create a canopy connecting the south lawn with the Ellipse, didn’t include obvious provisions for closing off the park to pedestrians.
Commissioners also homed in on finding a better substitute for the plethora of security bollards — the short, black poles that now line E Street.
Hood Design Studio’s presentation included using lighted bollards, but Commission Chairman Preston Bryant Jr. said the proposal “had a lot going on.”
Two of the remaining three designs called for grading the natural slope between the White House and Constitution Avenue, which would partially block the view of the avenue from visitors standing near the south lawn.
District Director of Planning Harriet Tregoning noted that grading between E Street and the Ellipse also creates a more natural-looking security barrier and “makes a lot of those bollards go away.”
But some think the layers of security barriers are just plain excessive. Robert Hershey, a past president of the D.C. Society of Professional Engineers, said his professional assessment is that E Street should be reopened. The street was closed in response to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
“The White House is basically a fortress,” he said. “Nothing could happen to it even if there was a car bomb on E Street.”
The planning commission has also received roughly 100 written comments on the designs, which were unveiled last week. It plans to make its recommendation to the project’s task force Thursday.
