If you haven’t already done so, I would encourage you to sign the petition to keep the mall open to recreational sports.

https://www.change.org/p/u-s-national-park-services-don-t-ban-sports-recreation-on-the-national-mall

Concern

The National Park Service (NPS) has proposed a ban on all sporting and recreational activity along the National Mall from 3rd to 17th Streets.  The ban includes eliminating currently permitted softball fields around the Washington Monument grounds and the first-come, first-served policy on the plots from 3rd-14th Streets.  The proposed policy is an extreme position and massive change from long standing practice.

Among the NPS-cited concerns, their primary reason offered thus far for the total ban is the perceived impact sports and recreation might have on the recently installed grass turf. 

Context

The total ban is antithetical to the purpose of the Mall.  Through the inception of the National Mall dating back to the L’Enfant plan of 1791 and the redesign by the McMillan Commission of 1901, a main intention of the Mall is to serve area citizens and the city by providing open recreation space. The National Mall represents the vast majority of open grass space in the city and is often cited as a contributing factor to the city’s frequent ranking as a best place to live or fittest communities.

The ban would dampen the vibrancy of the City by directly restricting access of tens of thousands of area residents and touching a much larger number of people through its negative impact on health and wellness and the local economy.  Exacerbated by an existing shortage of available play space throughout the city, the NPS ban would further stress the existing limited resources of the city and restrict groups like Congressional Softball, Senate Softball, House Softball, Flag Football, Soccer, Rugby, Ultimate Frisbee, Bocce, Kickball and others that have become a DC institution and part of the fabric of the city.

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If you haven’t already done so, I would encourage you to sign the petition to keep the mall open to recreational sports.

https://www.change.org/p/u-s-national-park-services-don-t-ban-sports-recreation-on-the-national-mall