Record of Determination for a Partial and Temporary Closure of a Portion of Certain Federal Parkland at Sherman Circle and Grant Circle for Public Safety

Pursuant to 36 CFR 1.5(a), Rock Creek Park, a unit of the National Park Service, is temporarily closing limited portions of parkland within Sherman Circle (US Reservation 369) and Grant Circle (US Reservation 312) to allow for the safe and effective repair of existing sidewalks in those parks.

Portions of park areas in Sherman Circle and Grant Circle will be closed to all public use effective 7:00 am on October 26, 2026 and lasting through 5:00 pm December 30, 2026 (or sooner if work is completed). The closed areas will be more specifically identified on site by barricades, cones, and signage. The closed areas will be accessible only to District Department of Transportation employees and contractors, National Park Service employees, and United States Park Police. Closures will be limited to specific work areas within Sherman Circle and Grant Circle. Public access will remain open in areas of the circles where work is not occurring.

The temporary closure of these park areas is necessary to protect the public from safety hazards associated with construction work occurring at the site. Less restrictive measures are not possible given the need to protect the public from potential unsafe conditions. This temporary and partial closure is not of a nature, magnitude and duration that will result in a "significant alteration in the public use pattern." Other nearby park areas will remain open to the public during this closure.

Accordingly, the National Park Service has determined publication as rulemaking in the Federal Register is unwarranted under 36 CFR 1.5(c). The partial and temporary park closure and public use limitation is consistent with hundreds of other temporary park closures, the legal opinion of the Office of the Solicitor, and judicial adjudications. ANSWER coalition v. Norton, No. 05-0071, (D.D.C. January 18, 2005, Mahoney v. Norton, No. 02-1715 (D.D.C. August 22, 2002), plaintiffs’ emergency motion for appeal for injunction pending appeared 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. Lujan, No. 90-1261 (D.D.C. May 30, 1990); Picciotto v. Hodel, No. 87-3290 (D.D.C. December 7, 1987); Speigel v. Babbitt, 855 F Supp. 402 (D.D.C. 1994), affd in parr wlo op. 56F. 3d 1531(D.C.Cir. 1995), reported in full, 1995 US App. Lexis 15200 (D.C.Cir. May 31,1995).

Pursuant to 36 CFR 1.7, notice of this temporary and partial closure will be made through public outreach and by the posting of signs at conspicuous locations in the affected park area. Finally, pursuant to 36 CFR l.5(c), this determination is available to the public upon request.

Brian D. Joyner
Superintendent