Editing Pennsylvania Avenue (section)

===Security measures===
After the [[Oklahoma City bombing]] in 1995, the [[United States Secret Service|Secret Service]] closed the portion of Pennsylvania Avenue in front of the [[White House]] to all vehicular traffic. Pedestrian and bicycle traffic, however, was still permitted on the sidewalk. After the [[September 11 attacks]], all traffic in front of the White House was prohibited, and traffic near the White House is redirected to [[H Street (Washington, D.C.)|H Street]] or [[Constitution Avenue]], both of which eventually link back with Pennsylvania Avenue.

In 2002, the [[National Capital Planning Commission]] invited several prominent landscape architects to submit proposals for the redesign of Pennsylvania Avenue at the White House, with the intention that the security measures would be woven into an overall plan for the precinct and a more welcoming public space might be created. The winning entry by a firm run by [[Michael Van Valkenburgh]] proposed a very simple approach to planting, paving, and the integration of required security steps. Construction was completed in 2004.<ref>{{cite news |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |title=America's Main Street Revisited; Pennsylvania Ave. Reopened to Pedestrians |first=Manny |last=Fernandez |date=November 10, 2004 |page=A01 |url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/washingtonpost/access/733273771.html?dids=733273771:733273771&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&date=Nov+10%2C+2004&author=Manny+Fernandez&pub=The+Washington+Post&edition=&startpage=A.01&desc=America%27s+Main+Street+Revisited%3B+Pennsylvania+Ave.+Reopened+to+Pedestrians |access-date=July 7, 2017 |archive-date=July 24, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120724235554/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/washingtonpost/access/733273771.html?dids=733273771:733273771&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&date=Nov+10%2C+2004&author=Manny+Fernandez&pub=The+Washington+Post&edition=&startpage=A.01&desc=America%27s+Main+Street+Revisited%3B+Pennsylvania+Ave.+Reopened+to+Pedestrians |url-status=dead}}</ref>