Norton Gives 30 Day Deadlines for Needed Improvements at Union Station Complex (7/22/08)

Washington, DC -- At the first comprehensive hearing on Union Stationsince its historic renovation was authorized in 1981, CongresswomanEleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), chair of the Subcommittee on EconomicDevelopment, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management, this morningbegan the process of assuring accountability to the public and toCongress by the Union Station Redevelopment Corporation (USRC), thepublic corporation responsible for the Union Station complex; the leaseholder, Ashkenazy; and the management agent, Jones Lang LaSalle Inc.Particularly disturbing was well documented un-rebutted testimony fromErin McCann, a D.C. resident and photographer rights advocatedemonstrating past and continuing violations of the First Amendmentrights of the public and the press including the right to takenon-commercial photography of a historic space owned by the federalgovernment and renovated for the specific enjoyment of the public.

Norton received testimony showing confusion among the parties on thespecifics of their responsibilities. After Norton questioned USRCPresident David Ball - concerned about the corporation, where four outof five members are public officials - Bell conceded that thecorporation has responsibility for the entire complex. The testimonyalso showed that security guards were barely trained; management waspoor; and there was failure to develop the mandated congressionalintermodal vision for Union Station, for example, denying availablespace to intercity bus service.

Norton was unsparing in her questions but offered throughout the threeand a half hour hearing to work in close partnership with witnesses toaccomplish the needed improvements and changes. Although shecustomarily requires submissions from witnesses in order to ensureprogress after hearings, Norton issued more deadline requests todaythan at any time since becoming chair of the subcommittee last year.Among the requests most to be received within 30 days, were a writtenoutline for a new photography policy within 30 days, with a finalpolicy, giving a presumption in favor of public First Amendment access,due within 60 days; a written plan to re-train all existing and futuresecurity guards; a meeting between Union Station management and tenantsso tenants can understand planned renovations and the future of theirleases; a record of the number of minority and women owned businessesat Union Station; a meeting between Union Station management and smallbus companies, which have been forced to use curb-side pick-ups in D.C.because of failure of Union Station to provide access to existingparking spaces at Union Station, as well as a plan for accommodatingintercity bus service; results of a meeting with Amtrak to clarifyindemnification issues that have prevented completion of the tunnel toFirst and H Streets started by WMATA; and immediate withdrawal of thepolicy that states Union Station is private property, postingprominently, instead, the correct policy.

"Union Station Redevelopment Corporation and the Union Stationmanagement company are not alone responsible for the problems andissues that have arisen at Union Station," Norton said. "For years,Congress has failed to provide the necessary oversight and guidance. AsCongress continues to invest in its intermodal vision of Union Station,we have a responsibility to resume oversight of the entire complex."

The full text of Norton's testimony is below:

Union station: A Comprehensive Hearing on the Private

Management, the Public Space and the Intermodal Uses Present and Future

July 22, 2008

Statement of

the Honorable Eleanor Holmes Norton

Chair, Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings and Emergency Management

House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee

I welcome today's witnesses to our subcommittee hearing on publicaccess, management, security and the future of Union Station complex asan important intermodal center for all modes of land transportation. The current management structure at Union Station, the Union StationRedevelopment Corporation (USRC), was created in 1981 at the directionof Congress, and Congress later competed the air rights that willexpand the station's capacity to become a world class intermodal andmixed use public-private facility. Ownership of Union Station, as thebill report made clear, "shall remain with the federal government."However, we are unable to find evidence of congressional oversight ofUnion Station since its redevelopment. Now that there is a newcongressional majority with Union Station under our jurisdiction, thishearing commences regular oversight.

Union Station began as the train facility for the nations capital whosegrand design was commissioned by Congress to produce a landmarkbuilding. However, as rail use declined in the 1950's, the stationrapidly deteriorated and a series of failed ideas, wasted federalfunds, cost overruns, major utility and roof needs, and mismanagementand litigation resulted. In 1981, after portions of the roof collapsedduring emergency structural repairs, Union Station was closed to thepublic, forcing passengers to walk a third of a mile around the closedbuilding to the replacement station. Congress stepped up later thatyear and sped purchase payments on Union Station to obtain earlierplanned federal ownership from Baltimore and Penn Terminal Realty. After a $180 million public-private renovation, Union Station reopenedto public applause in 1987, fully restored. The Congressionalauthorization to purchase Union Station mandated the creation of amanagement structure, the return of the station to its important railbeginnings, transition to an intermodal center, and the privateinvestment that has resulted in the retail available today.

Congress delegated to the Union Station Redevelopment Corporation theauthority and responsibility to order priorities and mediate thesectors in Union Station in order to safeguard the public interest. Like the District of Columbia itself, the Union Station complexcontains a mix of federal, local and private entities, but theoverriding public interest has never been in doubt: to provide thepublic access to a federally owned facility, to expand modes of travelto and from the nation's capital city, and to provide a secureenvironment. The public interest was strengthened when, in 1971, thefederal government created Amtrak in response to the sustained declineof passenger rail and today Congress puts billions of dollars intoAmtrak to sustain this valuable public resource.

At least since 9/11 we have seen a sharp increase in riders usingAmtrak, whose national headquarters is Union Station, making more rapidmovement toward genuine intermodal status essential. However, we havenot seen significant evidence that the Union Station RedevelopmentCorporation understands the increasingly central role of nationalintermodal hubs today. Yet, gas prices are driving record numbers ofAmericans to use whatever ground transportation is available. March2008 showed a 4.3% drop in vehicle miles travelled, the sharpest dropfor any month in U.S. highway history. In 2007 Americans use of publictransportation reached its highest levels in fifty years. The Housejust passed the first stand-alone transit legislation bill since Metrowas created, just as Metro is bursting at the seams. This week Metrohad its highest ridership day in its history, and eight of its top tenridership days have occurred this year. The House also authorized thenation's first high speed rail and it will travel between the Districtof Columbia and New York. The Capitol Visitors Center is scheduled toopen in December. This new attraction, which will bring many morevisitors to Washington, is one of the reasons Congress has insisted ona true intermodal center at Union Station.

Today, Union Station covers 12 acres and has 2,200 parking spaces,125retail outlets, and provides access to Amtrak, the WashingtonMetropolitan Transit Authority (WMATA) Rail and Bus, the Virginia RailExpress (VRE), the Maryland Rail Commuter (MARC) line, taxis, bicyclesharing, and other tourist friendly transportation services. UnionStation is the busiest rail stop on the WMATA rail line with over30,000 daily riders using this stop. Because of congressional mandatesand federal funds, the Intermodal Center at Union Station, will havenew parking facilities for tour buses, new rail concourses, streetcarsthat connect Union Station to the neighborhood, and additional securityimprovements. In the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 Congress directed GSAto dispose of the land over the railroad tracks at Union Station and,in 2002, the General Services Administration bid and sold 15 acres ofair rights above the rail yard adjacent to Union Station. The resultof the sale will be Burnham Place at Union Station, a 3 million squarefoot mixed-use development built above the rail yard just north ofUnion Station and scheduled to include expanded transportationcapabilities, mixed use, amenities, and a hotel.

The concept of Union Station as a modern intermodal center wasdetailed in a 1967 report by the National Capital Planning Commission,which envisioned combining intercity and intracity bus service withintercity rail transportation, Congress has strongly supported theintermodal concept with funds in every transportation reauthorizationbill since 1991 and in several annual appropriation bills. I secured$2.25 million dollars for the study currently being conducted by theDistrict of Columbia Department of Transportation on the IntermodalTransit Center at Union Station. Four months ago Chairman Jim Oberstar,Ranking member John Mica and I sent a letter to the USRC encouragingrelocation of the District's Greyhound intercity bus terminal, locatedseveral blocks to the north of Union Station, to Union Station. Astate-of-the-art intermodal center is by definition a facility thatallows passengers to seamlessly choose and get access to all modes ofground transportation. Our letter reiterated the Transportation andInfrastructure Committee's continued work on intermodal development atUnion Station. I followed with another letter on May 2, 2008, to theUSRC asking for access for additional intercity bus companies, some ofwhich currently drop off and pick up passengers on already crowdedDistrict streets. The response cited business relationships as thereason why Megabus was not allowed to sub-lease a parking spot in theparking garage. However, this is just the sort of arrangement that isneeded to help Union Station more rapidly fulfill the congressionalintermodal mandate while Burnham Place is being constructed andintegrated over the next decade. This and other steps can be taken nowto begin the process of converting what today is only a publictransportation hub to the world class intermodal center Congress hasmandated. Nor did the response to our letter mention any other way toaccommodate Megabus or similar companies. Accommodation of low-costintercity bus operators should not only be incorporated into the USRC'sbusiness plan, but long ago should have been actively sought toincrease the intermodal options available at Union Station.

Reported first amendment violations and denial of access by the pressand public as well as inconsistent messages by Union Station personnelare especially troubling. In June, a photographer was detained by UnionStation security personnel for taking non-commercial photographs. Areal time display of the confusion about access came when Channel 5 TV,a major television outlet here was shut down by security personnelwhile interviewing the chief spokesmen for Amtrak, who was explainingthat photography was allowed. Although management officials assertedthat a ban on photography was not the policy, Channel 5, NationalPublic Radio, tourists and a host of amateur photographers have beenshut down or given inconsistent direction on photography at UnionStation. The evidence of confusion and arbitrary actions by securitypersonnel reflects the continuing absence of clarity concerning publicaccess. Union Station appears to be a case study for the necessity formy bill, H.R. 3519, the Open Society with Security Act, to assurepublic safety while maintaining the highest level of free and openaccess to the public. The Homeland Security Committee has alreadyindicated an interest in moving H.R. 3519, and it has been referred toour committee by the parliamentarian.

However, the Union Station Redevelopment Corporation and the UnionStation management company are not alone responsible for the problemsand issues that have arisen at Union Station. For years, Congress hasfailed to provide the necessary oversight and guidance. As Congresscontinues to invest in its intermodal vision of Union Station, we havea responsibility to resume oversight of the entire complex.

We welcome today's witnesses and look forward to hearing your testimony.