Pursuant to 36 CFR Section 1.5, the National Park Service is imposing a temporary partial closure of the parking lot at Theodore Roosevelt Island as a part of the project to repair the stone guardwalls in the vicinity of the parking lot. The dates of the closure are from the date of this Record of Determination until the conclusion of construction, which is anticipated by March 5, 2024. Unauthorized entry or activity is prohibited in this area while it is closed.
This temporary partial closure is necessary for the repair of the stone guardwalls in the vicinity of the parking lot. The project will improve the driving experience and safety of the parkway while retaining and reviving its historic beauty. The parking lot at Theodore Roosevelt Island will provide vital staging resources for the contractor to effectively manage and complete the repair project.
The temporary closure is not of a nature, magnitude and duration that will result in significant alteration to the public use pattern. The nature of the closure is to provide necessary staging space for construction equipment needed to repair the parkway’s stone guardwalls. The closure will not include any portions of the parking lot that are not required for that construction work. The duration of the closure is the minimum that is necessary to complete the repair work. The public can continue to use the parkway and all unclosed portions of the parking lot at Theodore Roosevelt Island, and the public may continue to access to Theodore Roosevelt Island.
Fences and signage, traffic cones and other barriers will mark closed area. All areas that are not marked as closed will remain open for regular use.
Given the safety and security protections necessary in the closed area for such construction and associated activities, and the reasons for the closure described above, less restrictive measures will not suffice. The closure will not adversely affect the park’s natural, aesthetic, or cultural values. The closure does not require significant modification to the resource management objectives and are not of a highly controversial nature.
Nothing in this order is intended to prevent the National Park Service, its employees, volunteers, partners, contractors, subcontractors or designees from access and fulfilling their administrative duties and responsibilities.
Accordingly, the National Park Service determines publication as rulemaking in the Federal Register is unwarranted under 36 C.F.R. § 1.5(c). This closure is consistent with hundreds of earlier partial and temporary park closures or public use limitations, the legal opinion of the Office of the Solicitor, and judicial adjudications. Mahoney v. Norton, No. 02-1715 (D.D.C. August 29, 2002), plaintiff’s emergency motion for injunction pending appeal denied Mahoney v. Norton, No. 02-5275 (D.C. Cir. September 9, 2002) (per curiam); Picciotto v. United States, No. 99-2113 (D.D.C. August 6, 1999); Picciotto v. United States, No. 94-1935 (D.D.C. September 9, 1994); Picciotto v. Lujan, No. 90-1261 (D.D.C. May 30, 1990); Picciotto v. Hodel, No. 87-3290 (D.D.C. January 26, 1988); Spiegel v. Babbitt, 855 F.Supp. 402 (D.D.C. 1994), aff'd in part w/o op. 56 F.3d 1531 (D.C. Cir. 1995), reported in full, 1995 US App. Lexis 15200 (D.C. Cir. May 31, 1995).
This order is effective immediately, and will remain in effect until the conclusion of construction in March 5, 2024. Pursuant to 36 CFR Section 1.7, notice of this temporary closure will be made through media advisories, fencing and posting of signs at conspicuous locations in the affected park area. Finally, pursuant to 36 CFR Section 1.5(c), this determination is available to the public upon request.
Approval: Charles Cuvelier, Superintendent
