Archive: Stadium
Ball Game Shuttle Working Well
A month into the baseball season, fans and commuters seem to be having a relatively easy time dealing with the new stadium on South Capitol Street. Take the shuttle from the shuttle. The e-cruzer picks people up on south side of Nats Express bus stop.(Thomson) After a few weeks of wandering around the outside of the stadium to view the traffic and transit concerns raised by readers, I went to one of the Nationals-Mets games last week. We drove to Lot 8 on the south side of RFK Stadium, parked for free and took the free Nationals Express shuttle to Nationals Park. This was a breeze. From Lot 8 to the stadium turnstyle took 19 minutes, or about half the time it took to get a hot dog during the game. The trip back to Lot 8 after the game was similarly easy. Couple of things along the way: There...
By | April 28, 2008; 09:29 AM ET | Comments (0)
No Stress Test For Stadium Traffic
Nationals Park will cause no congestion problems at all, as long as the team plays every game in mist and bone-chilling cold. Lonely duty for traffic control on M Street north of stadium. (Thomson) For the first week night game at the new stadium by the Anacostia waterfront, fans and commuters had it easy. But then the game was played in bad weather on NCAA men's final night, factors that likely held down attendance at the ballpark. Also, Mondays tend to be lighter on commuting than other weekdays. The worst congestion I saw in a two-hour pre-game tour last night was at L'Enfant Plaza Metro station. The platform was crowded with a mix of commuters and baseball fans, and so were the trains. Metro had plenty of staffers spread out along the Green Line platform. As trains heading toward Branch Avenue (and stopping at Navy Yard Station, nearest Nationals Park)...
By | April 8, 2008; 08:27 AM ET | Comments (0)
Traffic Meets Baseball Tonight
The Nationals are scheduled to play their first week night game at the new stadium starting at 7:10 tonight. I'll take a look around the area and tell you what the traffic and transit conditions were like. Meanwhile, here are some tips for getting to -- or getting around -- Nationals Park, at 1500 South Capitol St. SE. Evening traffic from I-395 to South Capitol Street. (Thomson) Drivers -- First, don't type that stadium address into your online directions finder, make a printout and get in the car. This trip is way more complicated. The secret neighborhood parking spot you think you know is likely to be inaccessible or restricted at game time. -- These are probable hotspots for traffic: the Maine Avenue and South Capitol Street exits on the Southeast-Southwest Freeway, the intersection of M and South Capitol streets, M Street SE in front of the Navy Yard and...
By | April 7, 2008; 08:11 AM ET | Comments (13)
Walking or Biking to Baseball
To complete our blogging way through the travel options for Nationals Park, here are some walking and biking options. Street by Metro station. (Thomson) Walking If you're heading from downtown, the Mall or Capitol Hill, it's downhill toward the Anacostia riverfront. You'd be doing the pre-game walk in daylight for most games. Here are some possible routes: -- From L'Enfant Plaza, walk south on 7th Street, go left on I Street and continue south on 6th Street to M Street SW. Turn left and walk to South Capitol Street. -- From Federal Center SW, come down 3rd Street, turn right on E Street, left down 4th Street, left on I Street to a right on 3rd Street, then a left on M Street SW. -- From the Capitol area, you can come straight down South Capitol Street, but I prefer New Jersey Avenue, even though it's less direct. It's a...
By | March 26, 2008; 05:39 AM ET | Comments (7)
Navigating Roads to Nats Park
What if you decide not to chant the Take Metro mantra and instead drive to the new baseball stadium opening this weekend? South Capitol Street traffic on a recent weeknight. (Thomson) If you hold season tickets and paid the substantial extra charge for parking, you've got directions to your parking area from the Nationals. The team continues to develop its Way to Go page, showing various options for getting to the games. This is the directions page with directions for those with reserved parking spaces. The presentation includes an interactive map that, like the Way to Go page, continues to add useful information. Now, you can identify your parking area, then pick your starting point, and the map will display a best-bet route for you. Not displayed -- and I wish they would do it -- are routes to Lot 8 at RFK Stadium, where the plebians will park for...
By | March 25, 2008; 08:16 AM ET | Comments (8)
Getting to Games by Transit
The addition of a 41,000-seat baseball stadium to a D.C. neighborhood just getting used to traffic has not created a new transportation system. No new highways or roads or train lines were built to accommodate the crowds. Navy Yard Station. (Thomson) The main new thing is the rebuilt exit for the Navy Yard Metro station. That's scheduled to be open by this weekend, when major league games start at Nationals Park on South Capitol Street. Walk a block south from the station and you'll see how much is riding on the success of this transit solution: You'll be facing the two tiny-looking garages built to accommodate some of the season ticket holders. Making this work is more a management challenge than a construction program. The D.C. government, the Nationals and Metro can do all their publicity advising fans to "Take Metro, Take Metro, Take Metro" to the games, but it's...
By | March 24, 2008; 08:30 AM ET | Comments (8)
The Thin Green Line
The District's plan for parking on the streets around the new Nationals Park and the Nationals' plan for parking in the nearby garages and lots shows how heavily they will be relying on Metro's Green people mover. This will be Washington's first experience in the modern era with a large urban arena served by only one rail line. The program laid out in Daniel LeDuc's Post story today had better work. Delays on the Green Line during the evening rush when a night game also is scheduled will add to the crowding at the Metro Center, L'Enfant Plaza and Gallery Place transfer stations. Metro's board of directors today approved a plan to enhance bus service linking Union Station, Eastern Market and Navy Yard, which should relieve some of that pressure, because riders will be able to board the bus from stations on the Red, Blue and Orange lines. Aside from...
By | February 28, 2008; 08:28 AM ET | Comments (34)
Neighbors Worry About New Stadium Traffic
Just days before the Nationals begin their final season at RFK Stadium, the baseball team's soon-to-be neighbors in Southwest Washington met last night with the officials and consultants who are trying to make this new relationship work. Stadium design sketch released by District. The neighbors are worried about the baseball fans, and many find no solace in the District's experience in arranging the flow of the baseball traffic to and from RFK. They talk about differences in geography and fear that on game days they will become prisoners in their homes as traffic moves toward the new stadium. They worry about the safety of their children. Concern extends up into the southern portion of Capitol Hill. Those folks are worried that some baseball-bound drivers might choose to park north of the Southeast-Southwest Freeway and walk down to the stadium on South Capitol Street. The government officials and consultants did a...
By | March 30, 2007; 10:48 AM ET | Comments (9)
