If you are headed to what could be the Nationals last playoff game Friday, biking may be the best way to get to the game, especially with the game likely to end close to or during rush hour, News4 Transportation Reporter Adam Tuss reported.
Capital Bikeshare again will have a special corral at First and N streets in Northeast for Friday's game. Attendants will be at the site to check in bikes.
Crowds are expected again at Metro stations near the stadium and at major transfer stations such as L'Enfant Plaza, but Metro should still be a better option than driving, given the road closures planned near the stadium.
“We encourage fans to come early, stay late, and take transit if they can,” said Terry Bellamy, Director of the District Department of Transportation. “And even if you’re not attending the game, you need a game plan to ensure you don’t get caught in the traffic.”
READ our complete Nationals playoffs coverage here.
DDOT will deploy dozens of traffic control officers and other personnel at intersections around Nationals Park today, working with officers from the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) to direct traffic. Road Operations Patrol units will be nearby to assist disabled vehicles, and engineers will monitor traffic and remotely adjust the signal timing to mitigate delays, DDOT said.
ROAD CLOSURES
Local
Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia local news, events and information
Several streets in the District will be closed for the Nationals' home playoff games this week.
D.C. Police said that the following streets will be closed starting at noon on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. They will stay closed until police say it is safe to reopen them.
The streets are:
- N Street SE, from 1st Street to S. Capitol Street closed at 2:30 p.m.
- Half Street SE from M Street to N Street, closed at 2:30 p.m.
- Van Street SE, from M Street to N Street, closed at 2:30 p.m. and accessible to taxis and stadium traffic.
- 1st Street SE, from M Street south to Potomac Avenue will be closed at about 6 p.m. and accessible to stadium traffic only.
- Potomac Avenue SE, from S. Capitol to 1st Street will be closed at about 6 p.m. and accessible to stadium traffic only
In addition, traffic on Van Street SE will be one way (southbound) during games.
METRO
Metro is adding extra Green Line trains to move fans to and from the game, as it does for most Nats games, Metro spokesman Dan Stessel told Tuss.
The transit agency also offered tips for riders:
- Nationals games will have the potential to add thousands of additional riders onto the system during already busy travel periods. Whenever possible, fans are encouraged to plan a route to the ballpark that avoids downtown transfer stations during rush hours.
- For example, riders traveling to/from stations the eastern side of the Red Line should consider connecting to Green Line service at Fort Totten, rather than Gallery Place.
- Blue and Orange line customers should consider using Capitol South Station, rather than Navy Yard-Ballpark Station, to avoid transferring at L’Enfant Plaza or Metro Center. Capitol South Station is located 0.8 miles from the ballpark via First Street SE.
- After the game, customers connecting to Yellow Line trains toward Huntington should consider making the transfer at Archives Station, rather than L’Enfant Plaza.
- Navy Yard-Ballpark Station has two entrances. Half Street is slightly closer to the ballpark and often gets very crowded. Meanwhile, the New Jersey Avenue entrance is a short three-block walk from the ballpark and is usually significantly less crowded. Both entrances are equipped with elevators, in addition to escalators.
- To avoid potentially long vending machine lines after the game, National fans are reminded to load enough value on their paper farecard or SmarTrip for their entire roundtrip. Customers using paper farecards pay $1 more per trip than those using SmarTrip. SmarTrip cards can be purchased in advance at local CVS and Giant Food stores, Metro Sales offices, regional transit stores, online at smartrip.com, or at 47 Metrorail stations.
- Metro operates a combination of six-car and eight-car trains. Often, the last two cars of eight-car trains are the least crowded. Take note of the number of cars on the platform information displays. Spread out along the platform to take advantage of the additional space of eight-car trains whenever possible.
- Before and after each post-season game, Metro will operate additional trains on the Green Line to provide extra capacity for Nationals fans traveling to and from the ballpark. The additional trains will operate between Mt. Vernon Square and Anacostia Stations, making stops Gallery Place, Archives, L’Enfant Plaza, Waterfront and Navy Yard-Ballpark.
Metro will delay the start of scheduled track work until Nats crowds get through the system after Friday night's game. If the Nats win the series and move on to National League Championship Series, Metro will end track work early for Game 1 Sunday.
The 74, P1, P2, V7, V8 and V9 Metrobus lines go to the stadium. Circulator buses traveling from Nary Yard, Eastern Market and Union Station will run until 1 a.m. or the end of the game.
TAXIS
Taxi drop-offs will be limited in the stadium area, the taxi commission said. They are restricted to both sides of Van Street SE which is located north of the stadium, between N and M streets SE.
Pick-ups are restricted to the designated taxicab stand. The line will form on the north side of the unit block of M Street SE, extending east. No cabs are allowed to stop on M Street SE or on S. Capitol Street. No cruising south of M Street SE will be allowed.
Cabs are NOT authorized to charge an additional fare for each additional passenger after the first passenger on any day.
