Metro plans to ban public automobile parking at four Metrorail stations on Inauguration Day to accommodate employees and charter buses.

Asinine? Hardly.

Canadian Canuck: Metro plans to ban public automobile parking at four Metrorail stations on Inauguration Day to accommodate employees and charter buses.

Asinine? Hardly.

That is like using a runway at an airport to park tour busses.
The Metro station is for you to drive to, park, get on the metro and return for your vehicle later.

They're using the lots for charter buses and additional Metro staff parking. Sounds reasonsable to me. Also, they're taking cash, which is a break from their "SmarTrip Only" policy for the past couple years. And, they're running a rush hour schedule from 4am to 2am on the 20th.

That being said, it's still going to be a nightmare to get anywhere within 10 miles of DC's borders.

Shouldn't be an issue. It isn't as if those are the only, or even the biggest, parking equipped stations on any of the lines.

where are the out-of-town rednecks with sniper rifles supposed to park now?

Ahhhhhh Forced Busing. It begins. The end of the common person owning a vehicle.

Why would anyone want to deal with all that just to be 4 miles away anyway and have to watch it on cnn on a street corner?

If Obama has any legitimate threats against his life, they'll be from inside the government just like it was with Kennedy

/assuming they are closing the parking lots for security purposes

Actually, Greenbelt Metro is one of the largest parking lots Metro has plus it is at the end of the line which people coming from Baltimore would have parked at if it was open. The others are much smaller lots.
I agree with the asinine tag only for the Greenbelt station closing.

You know who else liked to force people onto buses?

Still wondering how shutting down part of 495 and 66 will improve the traffic on the 20th...

/TV ftw.

fark Obama

If Obama wants to be Mr. Change he should tell the Secret Service to lighten up and stop shutting down every city the president visits.

The inauguration of America's first Marxist President.

Excuse me, there's something in my eye...

Not a single attempt has been made against Obama, yet all you liberals are still quaking in your boots about these supposed racists hiding under your beds just waiting to attack. Not only that, because of it you heartily support the temporary cessation of people's liberties in the name of the protection of King err, President Obama.

Sad.

I feel bad for all the folks who work in DC and haven't been given the day off.

/I now have a 4 day weekend to hide in my apartment.

lol. Whatever. I'm not even going to watch it on TV.

taurusowner: lol. Whatever. I'm not even going to watch it on TV.

BUT ITS A HISTORICAL MOMENT!!!!!

/people who want to be able to brag about how "with it" they were 20 years from now

steve20832
The others are much smaller lots.

They are screwing with Vienna too. That is a HUGE lot.

I have a question for federal workers- Will you have to go into work on the 20th? If so, how the fark do they expect you to make it in?

valkore: ...it's still going to be a nightmare to get anywhere within 10 miles of DC's borders.

APPROVES (new window)

Given that at some point 10,000 tour buses were expected in town for the big day, housing them in the metro parking lots seems pretty reasonable - especially considering the alternative of having them all drive into town.

It's going to be an exceptionally interesting day logistically and -everyone- will have to figure out some hacks to deal with it.

What's retarded here is the fact that they're not recognizing reserved parking on the 20th. They are denying reserved parking to people that paid for it because traffic is going to be high. THAT'S THE REASON PEOPLE PAID FOR IT IN THE FIRST PLACE.

jofny: Given that at some point 10,000 tour buses were expected in town for the big day, housing them in the metro parking lots seems pretty reasonable - especially considering the alternative of having them all drive into town.

It's going to be an exceptionally interesting day logistically and -everyone- will have to figure out some hacks to deal with it.

I heard they're closing portions of 395 to allow for charter bus parking.

Canadian Canuck: Metro plans to ban public automobile parking at four Metrorail stations on Inauguration Day to accommodate employees and charter buses.

Asinine? Hardly.

Someone trying to get to work > someone trying to get into DC in order to stand a mile away from anything they can see.

DC transit is crowded enough as it is. Parking lots sometimes fill with cars on ordinary workdays, and now they've taken four out of the equation. It's nice that they're planning for the tourism influx, but some people still have to work that day.

MBarry: I have a question for federal workers- Will you have to go into work on the 20th?

I got the day off at least, and in the end, isn't that the most important thing?

/state dept

MBarry: I have a question for federal workers- Will you have to go into work on the 20th? If so, how the fark do they expect you to make it in?

Local federal workers have the day off. You can always check here:
http://www.opm.gov/operating_status_schedules/fedhol/2009.asp

jofny

seems pretty reasonable

I don't know/expect you to know this, but there is a shopping center within a few minutes walk to the Vienna Station. Rent that to the charter busses. As it is, people trying to park at Vienna are going to have to drive closer into Dunn Loring (hard to park at) or West Falls Church (IMPOSSIBLE to park at).

Persepolis: MBarry: I have a question for federal workers- Will you have to go into work on the 20th?

I got the day off at least, and in the end, isn't that the most important thing?

/state dept

Truth. The university I work for has been closed for the day. Maybe we should all find a place out of town to flee to?

valkore: They're using the lots for charter buses and additional Metro staff parking. Sounds reasonsable to me. Also, they're taking cash, which is a break from their "SmarTrip Only" policy for the past couple years. And, they're running a rush hour schedule from 4am to 2am on the 20th.

That being said, it's still going to be a nightmare to get anywhere within 10 miles of DC's borders.

This. I've ridden Metro for 20 years. Despite the predictable biatching from people who can't grasp that it isn't a personal limosine service, Metro gets high marks in my book for being a clean, safe, efficient, system, despite the difficulties of working in mixed municipalities. I'm willing to take their word on this. The alternative is buses circling the beltway looking for a station they can get close enough to to discharge their passengers, parking on residential streets, and generally farking the whole system up.

Greenbelt might seem a poor choice, until you consider that as a terminal station, trains will have maximum capacity when they arrive. Put the bus parking any closer in, and you'd have semi-full trains arriving on platforms crowded with busloads of passengers. If there has to be bus-only terminals, that's not a bad choice.

MBarry: Persepolis: MBarry: I have a question for federal workers- Will you have to go into work on the 20th?

I got the day off at least, and in the end, isn't that the most important thing?

/state dept

Truth. The university I work for has been closed for the day. Maybe we should all find a place out of town to flee to?

Maybe we should have an "Escape the DC area" fark party down in Richmond Jan 19-20?

MBarry: Maybe we should all find a place out of town to flee to?

I'm going to head downtown to see the craziness firsthand.

/unless it's cold, at which point I'm staying in and drinking.

chrismac: MBarry: Persepolis: MBarry: I have a question for federal workers- Will you have to go into work on the 20th?

I got the day off at least, and in the end, isn't that the most important thing?

/state dept

Truth. The university I work for has been closed for the day. Maybe we should all find a place out of town to flee to?

Maybe we should have an "Escape the DC area" fark party down in Richmond Jan 19-20?

Idea, newsletter, etc....

squirrelinator: Rent that to the charter busses.

Im aware of the shopping center...but you're suggesting the government can rent out private property?

I dont think it's a stellar plan, but given the fact that there will not be enough room in anyone's realistic assessment for normal business AND the inauguration to happen that day, it will probably help out even worse conditions in the city proper.

Does anyone really expect status quo ops for anything in the city that day? Everyone who doesnt live within walking distance of their jobs in the city should probably expect to be late or miss work that day - wherever they park the buses.

MBarry: I have a question for federal workers- Will you have to go into work on the 20th? If so, how the fark do they expect you to make it in?

The federal government will be closed on the 20th, so federal workers do not have to go in to work. Since MLK Day is also a holiday, federal workers get a four-day weekend.

Your tax dollars at work.

\Will be working from home on the 20th so I can watch the inauguration from the comfort of my living room.

What offices will actually be open on the 20th, anyway?
You'd have to be nuts to want to go into DC on that day.
Will be staying in my apartment in Alexandria. Sod going out.

FWIW, I live up by Van Ness and will probably walk the 3-4 miles to the mall that morning before the metro opens and hang out. Cold or not, politically-minded or not, I just think it'll be cool to be in one of (the?) biggest gathering DC has ever seen.

Anyone thinking about attending this is a lunatic. I mean, seriously, a gazillion miles away standing around with thousands of people freezing your arse off and no place to pee. All to say "you were there". Guess what, you can not go and still say you were there.

What's worse is some morons will drag their children along and make them suffer too.

JokerFoo: freezing your arse off and no place to pee.

There are plenty of trees on the Mall.

I live in Baltimore, so if I were not in the air en route back to BWI on the big day, I would have happily considered taking the MARC down. $25 is reasonable to not have to put up with most of the Metrofail inherent in a big day like this. But alas.

/Side note: 99% of the time Metro is awesome. Better than MTA here at least.

Seems harsh, but I hear the Inaguration Day multipliers for hitting a tourist with your car are through the roof.

Hil-fish: MBarry: I have a question for federal workers- Will you have to go into work on the 20th? If so, how the fark do they expect you to make it in?

The federal government will be closed on the 20th, so federal workers do not have to go in to work. Since MLK Day is also a holiday, federal workers get a four-day weekend.

Your tax dollars at work.

\Will be working from home on the 20th so I can watch the inauguration from the comfort of my living room.

Seriously? STFU ... I work for the DOC and to expect all the government employees to come in on that day is ridiculous. It would waste more time and money for them to come in than it's worth and put just that much more strain on the entire area. Besides, my check doesn't come out of tax payer money :P

My Mother and Brother plan on coming down for that day. I told them if they wanted to go into the city for the inaguration we're getting up at 4am and travelling early. My only hope is that not everyone thinks of that; fat chance, I know.

The people talking about "how do I get to work" are f'ing idiots. If the company you work for is stupid enough to be open on the 20th you need to start sending out resumes *now* because management is obviously not of a bright enough variety to survive for very long.

On a personal note, when the Phillies won the world series this year their parade was scheduled for a Friday. We closed the office that day. Pretty much every other office in Philadelphia closed that day, or ran on skeleton crews made up only of people who lived within walking distance.

I had an appointment that day, as well as a hearing, so I planned to go in, and living within walking distance of two train stations you'd think I would be able to do so.

No dice--all suburban trains were filled at their originating stations, and didn't even bother stopping.

I went home, got in the car, and tried going to Fern Rock Transportation Center, where Philly's subway terminates, figuring that maybe people wouldn't be as jazzed about parking in the heart of North Philadelphia. Boy was I wrong.

I don't remember how I finally got into Center City. The hearing I had was cancelled--the only person in the courtroom was a crier who walked to work. My client called five minutes before his appointment to say he wasn't going to show up. I then had to find a way home.

That was just for a baseball team parade--the idea of anyone trying to conduct normal office business in the country's capital city on Inauguration day is too retarded for words.

Again, do everyone a favor and don't stupidly try to have a normal work day like I tried do--all I was doing was taking up space needed to move other people around. And if your company is not giving people the day off then I really suggest you start looking for other work.

strathmeyer: Seems harsh, but I hear the Inaguration Day multipliers for hitting a tourist with your car are through the roof.

It's not the multipliers...it's just that there will be so many, you'll often end up running over 5-6 when you only noticed yourself plowing over 1. ;)

As a taxi dispatcher in Arlington I consider myself something of an authority on transportation in the DC area. As such, I extend this message to anybody who is planning on attending the inauguration:

STAY OUT.

It doesn't matter if you've booked a hotel for the week or put down a $1000 deposit on somebody's apartment. Consider it a sunk cost. Believe me when I say that no matter what attendance projections prove to be accurate this area is going to be a clusterf*ck of biblical proportions. I know you're excited. I know you think this is some astronomically historical occasion. But your enthusiasm is going to hit a brick wall when you find that you can't get a cab, there are too many people on the bus to ride it, and you can't even get in to the Metro station, let alone find a bathroom on the Mall. Between the crowds and the security I can promise you that you will wish you had stayed home. So do yourself a favor and stay home.

Those of us who live and work in the DC area already wish we could.

Listerine:

Go finish eating your bowl of fat dicks.

refrigeratorelf:
Someone trying to get to work > someone trying to get into DC in order to stand a mile away from anything they can see.


Something you'll do 400-500 times per year
Stop biatching and call in for the day.

My office is closed for both MLK and Election Day so all the traffic issues that weekend won't really affect me. I'll be walking or biking if I head downtown anyway.

What I'm more concerned about are all the street closings around the Hay-Adams while the Obamas are staying there, especially H Street between Vermont and 17th. Now all the east-bound traffic will be forced onto to K Street. All those idiots will start blocking intersections willy-nilly and just make the problem worse. What a clusterfark that's going to be.

Forget watching the inauguration on TV. Watching the news reports of the chaos surrounding it will be MUCH more fun!

Devin172: refrigeratorelf:
Someone trying to get to work > someone trying to get into DC in order to stand a mile away from anything they can see.


Something you'll do 400-500 times per year
Stop biatching and call in for the day.

My office will most likely be closed. But not everyone has that luxury.

Also, I generally try to only call in 365 times a year. Anything more than that is just tacky.