D.C.’s cyclist community gathered at East Potomac Park Saturday to call on the Trump administration to halt its plans to do renovations there.
The park is home to one of the District’s public golf courses and has long been a recreational space for residents and visitors.
“The second we stop showing up, we have lost,” said D.C. Councilmember Robert White at the event. “We have lost this park. We have lost our democracy.”
The gathering, called “Hains Point Hoopla,” was hosted by the Washington Area Bicyclist Association.
Elected leaders showed up, too.
“We’re all here today to show that our voices matter,” said D.C. Shadow Sen. Ankit Jain.
Earlier this year, the Trump administration announced plans to take over the city’s three public golf courses.
The administration wants to renovate the historic golf course at east potomac park and turn it into a “championship course.”
Renderings of the project obtained by the Washington Post appear to show a large course and little to no space for the other activities the park is known for.
“There’s not a lot of just open public space without cars or people moving really, really fast in cars, and this just feels really sacred because it’s accessible to so many people,” said Elizabeth Kiker, executive director of the Washington Area Bicyclist Association.
In May, a federal judge told the Trump administration it could proceed with maintenance work at the course but would have to give proper notice before doing any major renovation work.
In late June, the president took a trip to the course and posted on Truth Social that work would begin Sept. 1.
News4 asked the department of the interior for more information on the project and received a statement back that said, in part, “DOI and NPS are committed to continuing the relationships we have built with the local golf communities to ensure these courses are safe, beautiful, open, affordable, enjoyable, accessible, and world-class for people living in and visiting the greatest capital city in the world.”
The DC Preservation League has filed a lawsuit to try to stop the renovations from happening.
The folks who gathered at the park Saturday said they are in this for the long haul.
“We are not going to give up without a fight,” Jain said. “We are going to fight as hard as we can, whether it’s in the courts, in the streets, in the halls of Congress, to stop this project from moving forward.”
In addition to hosting the event, the Washington Area Bicyclist Association also started a petition which has around 2,500 signatures.
News4 reached out to the National Links Trust to get an update on the renovations at East Potomac Golf links and is waiting to hear back.
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