WASHINGTON — “America’s front yard” needs a cleanup crew. Several million in cash would help, too.
From afar, the National Mall, the majestic expanse of parkland from the Capitol to the Lincoln Memorial, looks postcard-perfect. But don’t get too close.
The Reflecting Pool is stagnant and full of muck. The lawns are flattened in places and just patches of dust. The sidewalks are cracked, the walking paths are crumbling and public rest rooms need repairs.
The seawall near the Jefferson Memorial is sinking, although the monument itself is safe.
“I don’t know if any of you have been down to the Mall lately,” John Akridge, who heads a Mall fundraising group, told Congress in May. “It’s a disgrace. It’s in a state of disrepair. The Park Service cannot do it alone.”
The Mall will play host Friday to the annual Fourth of July fireworks display. But it needs $350 million in improvements, the National Park Service says. That’s small potatoes compared with the $6 billion the Park Service needs to tackle a backlog of repairs at nearly 400 other sites across the country.
The problem? The agency has only $12 million for maintenance.
Fixing the seawall alone could cost $20 million, said spokesman Bill Line. The work is crucial because it keeps water inside the Tidal Basin and off Jefferson’s feet and the tourist-magnet Japanese cherry trees.
Twenty-five million visitors visit the Mall each year. That’s more than see Yosemite, Yellowstone and Grand Canyon national parks combined. To tourists, the problems are obvious.
“Everything is starting to look like it’s getting a little weathered,” said Andrew Swift of Newark, Del., who was touring with his family one recent afternoon.
In April, the Bush administration created a public-private project to raise $2.2 million for new signs. In June, a House Appropriations subcommittee agreed to ask for $100 million for renovations.
“We consider the Mall to be the front lawn of the nation,” said Rep. Todd Tiahrt of Kansas, the subcommittee’s ranking Republican. “It should be a jewel. But it gets a lot of traffic. There’s quite a bit to do. It’s going to take some time.”
