"Virtually all of them at this point are blast-related," said Christine Saum, director of urban design and plan review for the National Capital Planning Commission, which reviews the requests.
"No one wants to deny a security risk, but we want to make sure they are valid and thorough," Saum said.
Officials have proposed barring truck traffic from 15th Street NW near the Treasury Building and closing the sidewalk in front of the building.
(Susan Biddle -- The Washington Post)
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The panel exists to preserve public spaces and is campaigning for uniform, high-quality security designs, she said. Out of about 150 applications the commission receives each year, security projects have grown from 1 to 2 percent before the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks to 15 percent last year and to 30 percent this year, Saum said.
Other officials note that federal agency heads have to act on their own to improve security because there is no federal clearinghouse that provides technical blast studies, suggests standard countermeasures or sets funding priorities.
The lack of coordination was on display this week at both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue. On Tuesday, Congress implemented the street closure and checkpoints, at a projected cost of $3 million a month, without conferring with city officials. That prompted the Treasury Department to consider unilaterally heightening its own security.
Concerned that hasty decisions would encourage other agencies to commit to a frenzy of additional closures or restrictions, Lockwood called "a timeout."
Participants in a conference call included Gainer, Ramsey, City Administrator Robert C. Bobb, Secret Service Deputy Assistant Director James E. McDermond, representatives of other federal agencies, representatives of the IMF and the World Bank and Virginia and Maryland homeland security advisers, Lockwood said.
"I wanted everybody to take a step back and understand the implication of the individual actions taken," Lockwood said. "The purpose was to change the tone where people were very reactive."
District leaders have assailed what they called the opportunistic encroachment on city streets by a security lobby taking advantage of the threatening climate. They warned that federal officials are carving a city renowned for its physical symbolism into sterile enclaves.
"You can't close major arteries in a city and expect there will be no problem," Williams said.
On the second day of increased security on Capitol Hill, no major problems were reported.
During yesterday's rush hour, lines of vehicles about 10 deep stopped at a three-lane checkpoint at Maryland Avenue and Second Street NE. Vehicles were stopped briefly and sent on their way.
Washington commuters, largely accustomed to dealing with heavy security measures, seemed undisturbed by the stops.
Dana Duncan, 27, who works on Capitol Hill, waited about two minutes in line. Duncan shrugged her shoulders when asked if the increased security measures put a damper on her morning commute. "It's a necessary evil," Duncan said. "I'd rather be safe than sorry."
Senate Sergeant-at-Arms William H. Pickle agreed.
"We don't want to disrupt traffic, disrupt lives, hurt the District of Columbia or the economy," Pickle said. "However, when you weigh everything, you have to come down on the side of life and safety."
Staff writers Dan Eggen, Nicole Fuller and Dana Priest contributed to this report.
