Arabic version: خدمة المتنزهات تؤيد قوس ترامب رغم تأثيراته على المعالم

According to The Guardian, a new National Park Service report supports Donald Trump’s proposed monumental arch while acknowledging that the 250-foot structure would have adverse effects on existing Washington landmarks.

The 133-page report, released Friday, says the arch is likely to disrupt the historical significance of dozens of sites near its planned location at the Arlington Memorial Bridge. These include views connected to the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial and the Jefferson Memorial, as well as National Historic Landmarks near the Potomac River corridor and Arlington National Cemetery.

The report says the effects would stem primarily from visual, spatial and night-time changes rather than direct physical alteration. It identifies the arch’s height, visibility and illumination as factors that could change contributing views, vistas, setting, feeling or association at affected landmarks.

While acknowledging adverse effects, the Park Service characterizes them as manageable. It says the law does not require all harm to be eliminated when avoidance would defeat the undertaking’s purpose, but requires planning and actions to minimize harm to the maximum extent possible.

The proposed design is an approximately 250-foot reinforced-concrete structure clad in granite, with a central winged figure and two eagles positioned above each leg. The report says smaller versions were considered but dismissed because they would more fully obstruct the view between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery. The proposed arch, it says, would frame a less obstructed view through its central opening and provide new viewing opportunities while representing 250 years of American independence.