Show j The battle to remold the national mall Michael E. E Ruane r The Washington Post J I The National Park I Service envisions a prime venue for demonstrations I a broad space at the foot of the Capitol with restrooms seating a paved surface even a stand for the media I Attorneys for activist groups fe fear r a designated govern government approved men approved t-approved pit limiting freedom of speech and movement in a hallowed place of protest The proposal to turn Union Square the site of the Capitol reflecting pool and the Grant Memorial into an urban civic square is one of many ideas the Park Service is mulling over as it plans the future of the Mall But that and other suggested changes have sparked harsh debate I between government officials seeking to preserve one of the country's most I heavily used national parks and activists concerned about limits on free speech and civil rights The prompted tense exchanges at a public meeting this month and demands for the Park Service to halt its planning and seek broader public input This is a sugar-coating sugar effort to conceal the real plan which is to to reorganize the Mall from its traditional venue as the heart and soul of this country's free- free speech protest movement said Brian Becker national coordinator of the antiwar i ANSWER coalition Susan Spain project executive for the National Mall Plan countered We are not seeking to restrict First Amendment demonstrations whatsoever The Park Service requires permits for most demonstrations and has reasonable time place and manner restrictions for them she said What is proposed is only a better place to protest with more fae facilities she said But lawyer Mara Hilliard of the Partnership for Civil Justice which advocates for protest groups noted that the Capitol might not always be the protesters protesters' target Dem Demonstrators also want to be able to protest as far back on the Mall as they need and as wide as they need she said They have havethe havethe havethe the right to to not be shunted off to a protest pit None of the proposals for the Malls Mall's future laid out in three mix and match alternatives has been adopted The Park Se Service ice says that they are only suggestions and that it is seeking public comment The mail and online comment period runs through Feb 15 Information is available at The proposals which Spain said were developed from prior public input are part of the Park Services Service's attempt to better manage 1 7 j FY t d j 1 vh rt t yr r 4 h fi r I h h a i I- I t r 1 1 g i h i v I T. T jf 1 ft J f ft t 1 W r. t i Woy sya of U t J t Io 0 i rI r I f 1 t r I. I t In-t M y i. i s r r. r I Washington Post photo by Marvin larvin Joseph The National Park Service may turn Union Square the site of the Capitol reflecting pool and the Grant Memorial into an urban civic square speech Free-speech advocates fear the plan would create a designated pit that would minimize the po power er of free expression the Mall which has an estimated 25 million visitors a year and in many areas is worn from age and use The Park Service issues permits a year for events on the Mall About half are for First Amendment demonstrations Most of those involving politics draw a few hundred people or fewer officials said with perhaps a dozen or so attracting more than The National Mall Memorial Parks the official name extends from the Capitol to the Lincoln Memorial and is home to the Washington Monument the Jefferson Memorial and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial It also includes the Tidal Basin the National World War Var II Memorial and the Korean War Veterans Memorial It has extensive maintenance problems Many grassy areas are worn down to the bare dirt Parts of the wall and walkway around the Tidal Basin have sunk so far that they are submerged at high tide And the outdoor Sylvan Theater which sits next to the Washington Monument and traces its history to 1917 looks shabby and dilapidated Indeed one of the proposals is to move the Sylvan Theater whose structure stands about 10 feet from the Washington Monuments Monument's new security perimeter A new location was not identified Another idea calls for filling in the north bay of the Tidal Basin and removing the Kutz Bridge which carries eastbound Independence Avenue traffic over the basin The Kutz Bridge entered Washington lore in 1974 when a girlfriend of US U.S. Rep Wilbur D. D Mills jumped from it into the water during a p police lice stop A stripper known professionally as Fanne Foxe she was res rescued unharmed although Mills' Mills reputation was tarnished The Park Service says that the north bay has been the site of offish fish kills and that tha the narrow sidewalks along the bridge are crowded and dangerous during peak tourist season Other proposals call for paying paving the Malls Mall's grav gravel l walkways and building a d. A- A Anear Re near oiti its carousel J r I ri t f t |