STATEMENT OF JOSEPH M. ROBERTSON, ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR Mr. Chairman and members of the Committee, thank you for letting me appear before you to tell you about the serious hardship that would be worked on hundreds of U.S. Department of Agriculture employees if a temporary heliport is established at the proposed site at 12th and Maine Avenue, S. W. This site is being used for parking by some 800 cars representing about 2,400 employees of the Washington contingent of Agriculture employees. This represents about 20 percent of our employees in the downtown area. The site at 12th and Maine Avenue, S. W. is presently being leased from the Redevelopment Land Agency by the employees, USDA Welfare and Recreation Association. They spent $15,892 to make this land suitable for parking. In fiscal year 1965 they paid as rent to RLA the sum of $82,564. They leased this tract of land for parking as an interim emergency measure pending a more permanent solution to the Southwest Area's transportation problem. If the parking lot is abolished for a temporary heliport, the hardship imposed on these 2,400 people will be tremendous. Many of the employees using this parking lot live at distant points in the Washington suburbs, some live as far away as Manassas, Virginia, and Frederick, Maryland. Mr. Chairman, parking for Agriculture employees has always been difficult, but today it is critical. Prior to the redevelopment of the Southwest area, employees were able to find parking on the streets and in the commercial parking lots scattered throughout the area. After the Southwest area had been cleared of buildings they were able to park in the cleared areas. One area alone, that now occupied by the new Forrestal Building, accommodated about 1,000 cars. Gradually, however, this part of the city has been developed with construction until today, the only area left for parking is that located in the 12th and Maine Avenue section. Our employees, as others in the area, have accommodated themselves to the problem of difficult transportation and parking over the last 20 years. However, the roads and buildings which have been developed in recent years have gradually removed available parking facilities so that now, if the employee's parking lot on 12th and Maine Avenue is abolished, they will truly have no place to go. Mr. Chairman, I understand that the Committee on Public Works in the House originally proposed that the heliport be established at another location. However, when opposition to that site developed, the Committee then chose the 12th and Maine Avenue site because they understood there was no opposition to its use as a heliport. I would hope that if the House had been aware of the real hardship created for our 2,400 employees by their decision, they would not have chosen this location. Mr. Chairman, the morale of our employees is important to us. I'm sure it is to you. It is an essential factor in the excellent record that employees of this great Department have made for more than a hundred years. We recognize the difficult decision you have to make in selecting a suitable site for a heliport. We simply feel that we owe it to our employees to bring to your attention as forcefully as we can the hardship that will be theirs if you select their parking facility as the site for a heliport. I wish again to thank you for allowing me to appear and testify before your Committee and to present these matters for your consideration. Hon. STEPHEN YOUNG, AIR TRANSPORT ASSOCIATION, Chairman, Subcommittee on Public Buildings and Grounds, Committee on Public Works, U.S. Senate, Washington, D.C. DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: The Air Transport Association of America, representing virtually all the scheduled airlines of the United States, welcome this opportunity to submit its statement concerning HR 15024, a bill to establish a heliport in the District of Columbia. The airlines serving the Washington area have a vital interest in any actions and proposals which might improve air transportation service here. In our opinion the establishment of a helicopter operation to serve the WashingtonBaltimore metropolitan area, including especially Washington National, Dulles and Friendship Airports, would contribute substantially to the betterment of air service by (1) greatly reducing travel time between the downtown areas and the outlying airports, and (2) by facilitating passenger connections between any pair of area airports. Such a service would offer considerable flexibility to the passenger in his selection of flights and flight times, and providing a more efficient and coordinated air service pattern to the entire area. The rapid increase in the popular acceptance of air travel over the past few years has been remarkable. At the same time, the surface transportation difficulties of the air passenger have also increased. The proliferation of the automobile has outpaced the ability of our cities and states to provide adequate roads and highways. Surface congestion has been the inevitable result. One aspect of this problem in many large urban areas is the tieup the air traveler experiences between his home or office and the airport. Many cities have been looking for alternate means of transportation, both to ease this surface congestion and to make our air transportation system a more efficient mode of travel. This urban dilemma is not new to Washington area residents. Passenger traffic volume at Washington National Airport is fourth largest in the country. A further complication is the distance of the other two area airports from the city. These factors underlie Washington's need for more efficient airport-city transportation. In light of these needs, we applaud the vision and efforts of Representative Kenneth Gray, sponsor of H. R. 15024, who was successful in obtaining House approval of the measure. Nevertheless, after careful analysis, we suggest that perhaps a site other than that proposed in H. R. 15024 should be selected. The Civil Aeronautics Board on August 29, 1966, issued notice of a proceeding to establish helicopter service in the Washington area. No doubt, the proceeding will result in the certification of a helicopter operator in the area. It is our understanding that the site proposed in H.R. 15024 will only be available for a maximum of two years, after which it is expected to be purchased by a private party for use as an apartment complex. Thus, the site would be available as a heliport for only a short period of time, if at all. Unless the Committee accepts recommendations for an alternate site, we urge the Committee to amend H.R. 15024 by substituting language requiring the Federal Aviation Agency (or its successor in the new Department of Transportation), the General Services Administration, and the District of Columbia Commissioners to select a site for a heliport in the District, and to report their selection to the Congress no later than June 30, 1967. It is, of course, our hope that the other body would accept such an alternative. In conclusion, we urge the Committee to take this important step toward the establishment of commercial helicopter operations in the Washington area. Surface congestion and resulting excessive travel time to and from airports looms as a serious impediment to the efficiency of our air transportation system. Laying the groundwork for selection of a heliport site as suggested above will be of great assistance in bringing better air service to the Nation's Capital. Cordially, S. G. TIPTON. President. WASHINGTON, D.C., October 10, 1966. SUBCOMMITTEE ON BUILDINGS AND GROUNDS, COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC WORKS, U.S. Senate, Washington, D.C. HONORABLE GENTLEMEN: I request that the enclosed correspondence be included in the hearings on H.R. 15024, the Heliport bill. The correspondence is a request to the National Capital Planning Commission to consider a safer alternative to the proposed helicopter service at National Airport. Proposed is a hovercraft link between National Airport and the District of Columbia at either Buzzards Point or the Navy Yard. This site would be an alternative to the Portal Site Heliport. Mr. Casner and I will be at your service. Respectfully yours, JAMES B. HODGSON, Jr. WASHINGTON, D.C., October 10, 1966. Mrs. JAMES H. Rowe, Jr., Chairman, National Capital Planning Commission, DEAR MRS. ROWE: There is a proposal in development to provide a much needed helicopter link between the three Washington airports and the District of Columbia. The dispersion of these three airports has made efficient and reliable interairline transfers difficult, especially during rush hours. This makes a terminal east of the Potomac important. At the same time the crush of air traffic at National Airport always raises the specter of the first air collision between a Helicopter and a landing jet. We only need one incident. I should like to suggest an alternative which will combine the speed and flerbility with a greater degree of safety and furthermore avoid increase of noise over residential areas: Hovercraft service between National Airport and Burzards Point or the Navy Yard where a heliport would connect the District with Dulles and Friendship International Airports. The area is underdeveloped now but is of considerable potential importance as indicated on the sketch map, Enclosure 1. This site is suggested as an alternative to the Portal Site which is not accessible to hovercraft and is vulnerable to rush hour congestion. The specific advantages of the hovercraft are that they (1) require virtually no improvements for landing facilities, (2) can ignore bad water, swamps, and rapids, and (3) can proceed from the North and Main Air Terminals to the Heliport in a single trip with no time-consuming intermediate stops. Enclosure 1 suggests routes by which the service could be extended to Bolling Field MRL and Alexandria, and to the Pentagon, Rosslyn and Georgetown, via routes which are less used by pleasure craft, to make the service commercially more attractive. It is assumed that there will be some airline subsidy for the hebcopter service which would also be available for the cross-Potomac hovercraft. You will note that the attached sketch map includes the development along South Capitol Street, proposed by the National Capital Planning Commission. and the route for the East Leg of the Subway, proposed by the Capitol Hill Restoration Society. Also inclosed is a statement by Lewis E. Casner with reference to the proposed hovercraft service, Enclosures 2 and 3. I should like to request that the National Capital Planning Commission consider this proposal. Very sincerely yours, JAMES B. HODGSON, Jr. JAMES B. HODGSON, Jr., LEWIS E. CASNER & ASSOCIATES, DEAR JIM: Subsequent to our recent discussion of proposed routing for a Greater Washington Area helicopter service, I have given considerable thought to resultant air traffic control interface problems at National Airport. I find I am in complete agreement with your suggestion that every alternative measure to preclude additional ATC problems at National Airport should be carefully considered prior to final action on H.R. 15024. In view of my broad experience in helicopter operations, I am certain it is of no surprise that I am emphatically in favor of the proposed helicopter service as a means of facilitating the flow of passengers and air freight between National, Dulles, and Friendship air terminals. My professional experience in dealing with air traffic control problems, however, strongly influences my belief that joint utilization of overtaxed facilities at National Airport by a high volume helicopter transport service and heavy airline traffic would not be to the best interest of the general public. At your suggestion, I have looked into the relative merits of utilizing an air cushion vehicle for operation between a site located on the District of Columbia side of the Potomac and the main terminal building at National Airport. For many reasons current configurations of the "hovercraft" appear to offer the best solution. Further, the operational advantages of utilizing Buzzards Point or the Navy Yard for a heliport site, in lieu of the proposed "Portal Site", needs little if any justification. In conclusion, may I suggest that you bring this matter to the immediate attention of Mrs. James H. Rowe, Chairman, National Capitol Planning Commission. It is my belief that she and members of the planning commission should be made aware of the seriousness of this problem, and that a comprehensive feasibility study of your proposal be performed prior to actual implementation of scheduled helicopter service into National Airport. Very truly yours, LEWIS E. CASNER. Senator JORDAN. Thank you very much, ladies and gentlemen, and this will conclude this hearing. (Whereupon, at 12:05 p.m., the hearing was closed.) O |