Parking near the National Gallery in DC during the Stewart/Colbert rally
October 29, 2010 8:19 AM   Subscribe

During the Rally tomorrow, how likely is it that I'll be able to find a place to park--paid or otherwise--within a reasonable walking distance of the National Gallery in DC?

So tomorrow I'm going up to DC to see friends (including a MeFite!) and then shepherding them to the Rally and back. In the hours in between dropping them off and picking them up, I was gonna just go back to the hotel, but then I had the idea to visit the National Gallery instead.

Ordinarily, I'd just park somewhere close to public transportation, and then just take a bus or the Metro to the Gallery. But that's not going to work tomorrow for two reasons: I need to be fairly nimble in terms of picking my friends up--if they have to wait for me to catch a bus to my car, why wouldn't they just catch a bus on their own?--and also because I'm afraid that, being close to the Rally, public transportation won't really be an option in the afternoon anyway.

I only have the vaguest concept of DC's geography, so it's possible that this isn't even an issue. Also, keep in mind that my formative years were spent trying to move around New Orleans during Mardi Gras, so I have a possibly over-wary approach to navigating large public events like this. I know that MetaFilter in general skews towards a "life is short, just go for it!" mindset--at least when advising others, if not in their own lives--but it's completely acceptable to answer "This is a terrible idea, go see a movie instead."
posted by Ian A.T. to Travel & Transportation around Washington, DC (20 answers total)
 
There's about a 0% chance that you can find somewhere to park, much less free. You need to find a way for your friends to use public transport.
posted by T.D. Strange at 8:25 AM on October 29, 2010 [2 favorites]


It depends on which direction you are coming from, but regardless DO NOT TRY AND DRIVE DOWN TO THE RALLY, parking around the mall is generally a pain in the ass, and I can guarantee that you will not find a space. Just check the planned metro outages for this weekend and park at an outer station and use the damn metro, you can still get to the mall from there, and you will be within a block of the National Gallery.
posted by BobbyDigital at 8:27 AM on October 29, 2010


Even if the rally weren't happening tomorrow, the odds of this happening are approximately 0% unless you're willing to show up before 6AM. Parking on and near the National Mall is never something you can count on.
posted by valkyryn at 8:28 AM on October 29, 2010


Response by poster: Okay, thanks! Pay-per-view in the hotel room it is!
posted by Ian A.T. at 8:30 AM on October 29, 2010


I need to be fairly nimble in terms of picking my friends up--if they have to wait for me to catch a bus to my car, why wouldn't they just catch a bus on their own?

You have to admit: this is an awfully good question-- why are they depending on you for a ride if they can take transit on their own? The National Gallery is pretty awesome-- consider getting a shuttle from your hotel to the metro, take the metro into downtown, and hang out at the National Gallery. I wouldn't really even recommend driving into DC that day, even to drop someone off, much less parking, unless your plan is to drop them off at an outlying metro station so that they can ride into downtown.
posted by deanc at 8:38 AM on October 29, 2010


"This is a terrible idea, go to the rally, but take the Metro."

The rally is right next to the gallery. There's a parking garage in Union Station, but good luck finding a spot there. (There's a chance that the Uline Arena garage at 2nd & M will be open, which will be a lot less crowded, and is a ~20 minute walk to the Mall/Gallery).

Public transit will be difficult, but not impossible. I'm guessing that people will gradually show up in the morning (ie. no problem for transit), and very quickly empty out as soon as the rally is done (ie. avoid the metro stations near the mall for about an hour).

Why can't your friends take public transportation, or meet at an outlying metro station with parking? (Going around the beltway, you've got West Falls Church on the West, Forest Glen on the Northwest, Greenbelt on the Northeast, Branch Ave on the Southeast, and Franconia/Springfield to the Southwest). Your reasons for not taking the Metro don't make very much sense to me. If you think that driving in or around the district on Saturday will be fast or nimble, you're crazy. There will be road closures everywhere.

Of course, this also means that the gallery will be very crowded.

As a piece of general advice, do NOT try to transfer at Chinatown, Metro Center, or L'Enfant -- you can walk to the mall from any of the lines in less than 15 minutes -- there's really no need to transfer. The rally will be on the eastern end of the mall, so (Union Station/Judiciary Square on the Red Line, Archives/L'Enfant on the Green/Yellow Lines, Federal Center/L'Enfant/on Blue/Orange lines)

Because our transit system is perpetually underfunded, there is also a ton of maintenance going on during the weekend. Sigh.
posted by schmod at 8:41 AM on October 29, 2010


I also strongly suspect you won't be able to get near them to pick them up or drop them off. I'd pick a metro spot that's a bit away (or a walkable few miles away) and plan to pick them up there. DC usually locks things down fairly seriously when there are big events.
posted by countrymod at 8:41 AM on October 29, 2010


I live a few blocks from the National Gallery and am not nearly as pessimistic as anyone else here. Most rally attendees tend to come in on tour buses so they do not occupy many parking spaces. (I also doubt this "rally" will be much of a draw.) Marine Corps Marathon is not until Sunday. There are numerous parking garages in the area to accommodate commuters. The garages are north of the National Gallery, where there are lots of office buildings.

You will not get a space on the street unless you are extremely lucky. But parking garages are run by true entrepreneurs. They adjust prices to meet market demand. So when there is a lot going on, the price goes up. There are generally spaces though, IF you are willing to pay for them. You must be willing to open your wallet.

There is lots of cheap/free parking on the streets threading through the mall. You will not find a space there. But if you drive around downtown where the office buildings are I bet you will find a garage with spaces.

Watch out: the Washington International Horse Show is going on so it's got some streets closed. Even with that, though, garages have not been full.
posted by massysett at 9:03 AM on October 29, 2010


Parking within a block of National Gallery on this Saturday? Probably impossible. Parking within 5 blocks? Likely. Parking within 10 blocks? Almost surely. Traffic might be worse than normal because of street closures.

If you want to drive, my suggestion is drive down to the north west side of the Gallery, which won't be too heavily effected by the rally (which last estimate I saw was only going to be 60k, not that huge). And see how it is. Drive around some, check out if there's any street parking (which might be limited to only two hours, btw). Or just try some garages if you're willing to pay ~$15 (maybe less, maybe more). Worse case, you "give up" and drive close to some Metro station and metro to Archives, which is really only two blocks from Gallery.

Also, the idea that it's "impossible" to park around the Mall is just wrong. The only time I've actually had a hard time was a Sunday since people park all day and I was trying to park on the south side of China town. Still only took me 15 minutes.

Since you don't know DC too well, this plan might not work. But it's what I'd try. Where's your hotel about?
posted by skynxnex at 9:24 AM on October 29, 2010


Public transportation during major events will almost always be a better decision than driving and parking in DC. Just take metro. If it's busy enough that metro isn't an option, then the roads will also be an absolute nightmare and won't be better one.
posted by empath at 9:27 AM on October 29, 2010


Response by poster: I'm staying in Alexandria.
posted by Ian A.T. at 9:29 AM on October 29, 2010


Metroing in from alexandria is a breeze.
posted by empath at 9:31 AM on October 29, 2010


Yeah, if you're close to any of the yellow line stations, it's a pretty quick, easy trip to Archives (no transfers!). Parking at Huntington Station will be free (and probably ample for this weekend). There are a limited number of free spots at King St and Braddock Rd as well. And it looks like the Yellow line isn't being worked on this weekend.

But I also think that taking the parkway to 14th street bridge to the west side of the mall won't be too bad on Saturday. But, what do I know.
posted by skynxnex at 9:35 AM on October 29, 2010


Response by poster: Okay, thanks guys. I'll definitely try to convince them to Metro in instead so I can spend some quality time in the Gallery. I really appreciate your advice.
posted by Ian A.T. at 9:51 AM on October 29, 2010


Yeah. If you're in Alexandria, Metro is definitely the way to go. This advice would hold even if you were going in on a "normal" weekend. DC's one of those rare places where the public transport is a lot easier to figure out than the roads or parking.
posted by schmod at 12:04 PM on October 29, 2010


I see that you're changing your plans, but just in case someone else reads this thread and isn't convinced, here is a map demonstrating why driving in DC this weekend is a bad idea.
posted by CharlieSue at 1:03 PM on October 29, 2010


FYI, I think the DCist map is a pretty useless map for figuring driving on Saturday. Most of the road closures on it (which is pretty misleading since it combines Saturday and Sunday) are Saturday and Sunday night for Halloween (the Georgetown area) and Sunday for the Marine Corps Marathon.

The Saturday closures are mostly limited to a few roads in and right around the Mall. If anything, I'd say the MCM (which is Sunday morning) is a bigger deal in terms of driving than the Rally is. MCM has 20k+ runners plus 150,000+ spectators (using Metro to move from viewing spot to viewing spot along the MCM is super packed), compared to 60kish for the Rally. Yes, the MCM is spread over a bigger area, but the DC area deals with marathons less frequently than we do rallies on the Mall.

Will downtown be crowded? Yes. Will it be impossible to drive around? No. (Unless the turn out is way bigger than expected. I've accidentally driven around the mall with a rallies about as big just fine.)
posted by skynxnex at 1:33 PM on October 29, 2010


From Alexandria you should take the yellow line into the rally, not the blue. Get out at L'Enfant Plaza and walk to the Mall. It is a short walk.
posted by Gringos Without Borders at 5:05 PM on October 29, 2010


Shit, just read the National Gallery thing. You can walk to the rally from L'Enfant and then to the Gallery from there, I guess. L'Enfant gets you out of the train earlier, which you are going to want tomorrow.
posted by Gringos Without Borders at 5:10 PM on October 29, 2010


Response by poster: Just a quick update: I ended up driving after all. We hit a little bit of traffic coming in, but we made the five mile drive in about twenty minutes, I'd say. I was able to drop my friends off a few block away from Mall, then circled back behind the Library Of Congress and found a spot in a lovely residential neighbor that made me question the choices I'd made in my professional life. A brisk fifteen minute walk and I was left alone in a reasonably quiet National Gallery for four hours of quiet contemplation.

Thank you to everyone who took the time to answer this question. I appreciate your effort.
posted by Ian A.T. at 5:37 PM on October 31, 2010 [1 favorite]


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