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Near Southeast DC Past News Items: Nationals Park
See JDLand's Nationals Park Project Page
for Photos, History, and Details
In the Pipeline
25 M
Yards/Parcel I
Chiller Site Condos
Yards/Parcel A
1333 M St.
More Capper Apts.
Yards/DC Water site
New Marine Barracks
Nat'l Community Church
Factory 202/Yards
SC1100
Completed
Thompson Hotel ('20)
West Half ('19)
Novel South Capitol ('19)
Yards/Guild Apts. ('19)
Capper/The Harlow ('19)
New DC Water HQ ('19)
Yards/Bower Condos ('19)
Virginia Ave. Tunnel ('19)
99 M ('18)
Agora ('18)
1221 Van ('18)
District Winery ('17)
Insignia on M ('17)
F1rst/Residence Inn ('17)
One Hill South ('17)
Homewood Suites ('16)
ORE 82 ('16)
The Bixby ('16)
Dock 79 ('16)
Community Center ('16)
The Brig ('16)
Park Chelsea ('16)
Yards/Arris ('16)
Hampton Inn ('15)
Southeast Blvd. ('15)
11th St. Bridges ('15)
Parc Riverside ('14)
Twelve12/Yards ('14)
Lumber Shed ('13)
Boilermaker Shops ('13)
Camden South Cap. ('13)
Canal Park ('12)
Capitol Quarter ('12)
225 Virginia/200 I ('12)
Foundry Lofts ('12)
1015 Half Street ('10)
Yards Park ('10)
Velocity Condos ('09)
Teague Park ('09)
909 New Jersey Ave. ('09)
55 M ('09)
100 M ('08)
Onyx ('08)
70/100 I ('08)
Nationals Park ('08)
Seniors Bldg Demo ('07)
400 M ('07)
Douglass Bridge Fix ('07)
US DOT HQ ('07)
20 M ('07)
Capper Seniors 1 ('06)
Capitol Hill Tower ('06)
Courtyard/Marriott ('06)
Marine Barracks ('04)
 
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* If you've looked at the web cam in the past few days, you've seen that they're mowing the turf to get the pretty diagonal pattern in place. Can the Curly W in the outfield be far behind?
* A switch over to the 55 M web cam shows that paving of Half Street is more than Half done (ar-ar).
* The Nats are leaving it up to fans to determine the music that will be played at the ballpark. The choices are available at nationals.com/youmakethecall; voting starts there tomorrow (March 13) at 9 am and runs through March 26 at 5 pm. Read the press release for more details.
* And of course there's the parking for DoD employees at the Navy Yard and Ft. McNair that I just wrote about below.
* Fox 5 reported last night on crime near the ballpark. I only track crime that happens from South Capitol Street east (and the Fox report centered on Southwest), but if you're wanting hard data, look through my Near Southeast Crime Reports archive, which goes back to 2005. The data comes from the city's crime incidents xml feed.
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More posts: crime, Nationals Park
 

Back when the first information on parking for Nationals Park went out in November, there was a line about special parking arrangements for Department of Defense employees, and now we finally have more details, thanks to the Pentagram (h/t to Nats320): "Washington Nationals fans who wish to attend evening and weekend home games may park their vehicles at the Washington Navy Yard or Fort McNair. A Department of Defense common access card, Retiree or Dependent ID card, and DoD vehicle decal are required for entry onto the installations for game parking. Parking for Nationals Stadium events is available in non-reserved parking spaces outside normal working hours, after 4:30 p.m., on weekdays, as well as weekends and holidays. DoD members may sponsor non-DoD guests in their party. At the Navy Yard, MWR food and drink concessions will be available before the game. [...] Spaces on both installations are limited and will be filled on a "first-come-first-served" basis -- public transportation is highly encouraged for those who wish to avoid the inevitable stadium traffic. Parking will not be allowed for games that conflict with installation work schedules, or ceremonies and special events such as the Military District of Washington Twilight Tattoos on Fort McNair, scheduled for 21 May, 4 June and 25 June." See the article for additional details.
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More posts: parking, Nationals Park
 

A reminder that tomorrow (Wednesday March 12) is the community meeting on ballpark traffic management and curbside parking issues, where representatives of DDOT, the Sports and Entertainment Commission, and the Nationals will be on hand to answer questions on the Transportation and Residential Curbside Management Plan (so read it before you get there so you know what to ask about!). It's technically an "open workshop" that will "highlight the numerous parts of the overall transportation and parking operations that will be in effect during events at the new stadium." The press release about the meeting also says that DDOT "will also offer their appreciation to the area residents and business owners for their support and patience during the recent street upgrades in the South Capitol corridor." (Cookies? Cake? Gold stars for foreheads?) The meeting is on the 10th floor of 20 M Street, SE, from 6 to 8:30 pm.
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More posts: Metro/WMATA, parking, Nationals Park
 

For those interested in getting news on Benedict XVI's visit to the U.S. (which includes the April 17 Mass at Nationals Park) the Conference of Catholic Bishops has set up a blog with the latest headlines and items of interest, at uspapalvisit.org. And, if you want a blog about the visit that's a little closer to home, the Washington Times has a papal visit blog, too.
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More posts: Nationals Park
 

Yesterday Metro put out a press release with more detailed information (beyond what I posted on Saturday) on how it is planning to be ready for Opening Day at Nationals Park. Here are the highlights, which include a few answers for items that people were concerned about:
* The west entrance of the Navy Yard station will indeed reopen "the weekend of March 29", after its year-long $20 million renovation to expand its capacity from 5,000 to 15,000 passengers an hour.
* "On game days, the west entrance will be exit-only three hours before games, and entrance-only after games. During games, the Navy Yard east entrance should be used by people traveling in the opposite direction of the crowds."
* "The newly expanded N22 Metrobus route from the Navy Yard Metrorail station to the Eastern Market and Union Station Metrorail stations will operate every 10 minutes from 11 a.m. to 11:30 p.m." (Note that previous announcements about the N22 had it stopping at 10:30 pm; I don't know if the 11:30 pm end-time is only for Opening Day, or for all games, or what.)
* "To accommodate the crowds, Metrorail will operate up to 18 extra trains, most of them on the Green Line. All trains will be a combination of six and eight-car trains."
* "On weekends and at the conclusion of games, Metro will have extra trains available to get fans to and from the ballpark."
Also, beyond what is in this release, WTOP and the Examiner are reporting that Metro has decided to add one additional six-car train (with a capacity of about 900 passengers) during weekday evening rush hours, for a total of 13 six-car trains and 7 eight-car trains. There will also be four trains waiting on the Green line in case of problems. NBC 4 also has a piece on Metro's plans.
For more information, look at my Take Metro! page, as well as my other Stadium Transportation and Parking pages if you're planning on driving.
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More posts: Metro/WMATA, parking, Nationals Park
 

This just in from DDOT (no link yet): " DC Department of Transportation (DDOT) in coordination with The Federal Highway Admin (FHWA) will be installing the overhead Nationals Baseball Signs during nighttime hours Monday, March 10, 2008 from 8pm to 4:30am on the overhead sign poles for the South Capitol Street ramp exit off 395NB. The ramp will be closed to ensure the safety of the workers and all motorists. All work will be completed prior to rush hour on Tuesday. The work area is 395-North also known as East Bound SE/SW Freeway. DDOT will assist in controlling traffic in the immediate work area and guide motorist to the detour routes. Work installing the signs will began with the East bound side of 395 at the South Capitol Street. DDOT encourages all motorists traveling in the work area to follow the clearly marked detour signs and keep alert."
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More posts: South Capitol St., Nationals Park
 

* Thanks to reader K for the heads up that the 55 M web cam is back online. Looks like they painted those distinctive beams above the Metro entrance during the blackout. (UPDATE: And the webcam now shows that Half Street is getting paved today.)
* Today it's an Examiner columnist who rails against the traffic and transit catastrophe at the ballpark three weeks before the first regular-season pitch even happens, using his crystal ball to predict that an unfinished Metro station now means an unfinished Metro station then.
* The GW Hatchet explains how to get tickets to the March 22 game at Nationals Park.
* Howard University's paper looks at Southwest residents wary of the development starting to surround them.
* Get in on the Douglass Bridge design discussion in the comments from a few days ago.
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More posts: Metro/WMATA, parking, Douglass Bridge, Nationals Park
 

* I mentioned this a few days back, but why not pass along another reminder that Monday at 7 pm is the ANC 6D monthly meeting, with presentations and votes on 401 M Street, the ballpark traffic management plan, and the South Capitol Street Draft EIS, plus a briefing by the Nats on the Opening Day "Fan Fest" activities. To get in on the fun, go to St. Augustine's Episcopal Church at 6th and M St., SW, starting at 7 pm.
* If the ANC isn't your bag, you can watch the Zoning Commission take up again the Capitol Gateway Overlay Review for Donohoe's planned office building at 1111 New Jersey. It's a continuation of the last hearing, which revolved mostly around whether the garage access would be from New Jersey or from the alley. The hearing starts at 6:00 pm, and 1111 is also on the public meeting agenda at 6:30 pm, which perhaps is a display of optimism that Donohoe and DDOT will have the garage issue straightened out and the review ruling can be made. Watch the webcast, if you're so inclined. (I'm going to be missing both of these meetings, so it might be a few days before I can get the scoop on them.)
* The new Enhanced Residential Parking Permit signs, which allow non-Zone 6 parking only on one side of the street in certain areas near the ballpark, continue to get installed. They came to my street north of the freeway within the past day or so.
* I thought I did good with last week's find of a November 2006 satellite photo of the neighborhood, but reader JK has upped the ante with the "Bird's-Eye View" option at Microsoft Live Search, showing not-real-high-up images from March 2007. But be careful when you're scrolling around--if you go to fast, the images flip back to shots from early 2003. (Which is festive in its own fun-house kind of way.)
 

Metro has posted some information about how it plans to handle Opening Day at Nationals Park on March 30, and the Mass by Pope Benedict XVI on April 17. (This document comes from the agenda for its March 13 Customer Service, Operations, and Safety Committee meeting.) Some highlights, above and beyond the we've-put-up-a-web-site-and-printed-brochures bullet points:
* Metro is expecting 24,000 fans to come via Metro for Opening Day (21,000 of them via the Navy Yard station), and 26,000 Mass attendees. They also expect 60 percent of baseball fans to arrive via Metro during the season.
* The Opening Day plan includes the newly enhanced N22 bus service, 18 extra pre-and post-game trains (mainly on the Green line), extra eight-car trains (perhaps up to every third train), and converting the Navy Yard Station to "one-way" traffic. (I presume this means for pedestrians, though I'm not sure if this means that *no one* can enter/exit the station against the flow before and after the game.) The fact that this first game is on a Sunday night is allowing Metro and the city to avoid a possible complete meltdown of the transportation network that might happen if it occurred during an evening rush-hour.
* Because Mass attendees must be through security and into the park by 9 a.m., Metro expects the largest crushes of travel to be between 5 and 8 am (the height of the morning rush hour) and again post-Mass. All available extra trains will be used when the Metrorail system opens at 5 am, and there will be 18 extra trains after the Mass ends. And, again, the document says that the Navy Yard Station will be converted to "one-way," which ought to be interesting for the commuters trying to use the station to get to and from work during this Thursday event. And the dreaded phrase "Rolling Street Closures" is mentioned for Pope Day, in that it might affect bus routes coming into the neighborhood. If there were ever a day for Near Southeast residents and workers to telecommute....
With the uncertainties about how fans and the transportation network will handle the crush of getting to the new ballpark for the first time, and with the president expected to throw out the first pitch, the Nationals are opening the gates at 3:30 pm on the 30th, 4 1/2 hours before the 8:05 pm start time. I've been told that they've acquired more than 50 magnetometers to try to lessen the burden of passing 41,000-plus fans through security, but if you're going to the game, you might not want to show up at 7:55.
UPDATE: For more, see this Tuesday entry on additional news on Metro's plans.
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More posts: Metro/WMATA, parking, Nationals Park, Stadium Events
 

Just a bunch of tiny items worth highlighting on a dreary Saturday (no new photos today in this muck):
* A building permit has been approved to build a surface parking lot along First Street between M and N, where Normandie Liquors and its brethren were demolished last month. And the Archdiocese of Washington has applied for a public space permit for the 1300 block of First Street, SE--does the Popemobile need special parking permits?
* As plans at The Yards continue to move forward, there's now official names for the first-phase projects. Say hello to The Boilermaker Shop, The Pattern Shop Lofts, and Factory 202. (And 401 M and 400 Tingey, but those aren't anywhere near as catchy.)
* The 55 M web cam is no longer available to the public. Perhaps they want the Opening Day vista to be a big surprise. Or they don't want people watching the last-minute work on the Navy Yard Metro station. (I wonder if the gas main hit on Thursday was caught by this camera.)
* Some commenters are discussing the idea that's been floated of someday demolishing the Southeast-Southwest Freeway. Getting rid of this Berlin Wall that separates Capitol Hill and Near Southeast (and splits Southwest) was brought up in the National Capital Planning Commission's 1997 Extending the Legacy framework plan, if you want to see it actually on paper. (Apparently an updated NCPC framework plan is scheduled to come out this spring, which looks like it continues to have Virginia Avenue marked where the freeway currently is.) As to whether I'll see this done in my lifetime, well, it would be a nice surprise.
If you really want to go high-concept, you can read DDOT's 2003 South Capitol Street Gateway and Improvement Study to see their ideas for a tunnel that would link I-295 and the SE/SW Freeway for through traffic, leaving South Capitol Street to become the grand urban gateway boulevard planners envision. At Wednesday's public meeting on the South Capitol Street Draft Environmental Impact Statement, DDOT said that the tunnel isn't totally off the table, but they decided that a new Douglass Bridge and other South Capitol Street improvements could move forward separately. But could a tunnel still work if the dream of dismantling the SE/SW Freeway were realized?
* I've tried to remain (mostly) unopinionated on various projects during the five years I've run this site. But sometimes, it's necessary to take a stand, to come out from behind the cloak of neutrality and crusade for what you believe in. So I'm going to take advantage of this bully pulpit and fight for one thing: Arched Bascule!
 
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