Blog | Photos | Projects | Nats Park | Time Machine Photo Archive | Project Directory | Nats Park | Search | About | Contact JD
Please note that JDLand is no longer being updated.
peek >>
Near Southeast DC Past News Items
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)
 
Go to Full Blog Archive


1552 Blog Posts Since 2003
Go to Page: 1 | ... 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 ... 156
Search JDLand Blog Posts by Date or Category

Performance Parking Bill Passes; Additional Zoning Hearing on Southwest Lots on March 24; Public Meeting on Traffic and Parking March 12
(I'm having so much fun with posts on home plate's arrival at the ballpark, ballpark food, and raze permits that I hate to kill the buzz with a post on parking, but alas it must be done.)
Yesterday the city council passed an emergency version of Tommy Wells's Performance Parking pilot plan, which will be used to regulate curbside parking on streets near the ballpark (as well as in Columbia Heights, along with a new taxicab zone pilot in Adams Morgan and a Visitor Pass pilot in Mount Pleasant). I've got the text of the bill as passed, and there's much more detail than was in the draft version of the bill (though not the detail that everyone really wants, namely the rates and fines), so definitely look at it if you're looking for additional information. A few items that jump out at me (though I'm hoping that Tommy's office sends out a release soon with more info):
* The pilot is only for two years.
* The mayor gets to set the rules, fees, and fines for the zones, but the council gets to set the zones themselves.
* Parking fees cannot be increased by more than 50 cents in any one-month period (or more than once per month).
* Councilmembers and ANCs must be notified of any fee changes at least 10 days in advance.
* "The Mayor shall publish a web site that includes the following: pilot zone boundaries, rules/regulations, information about how to use new parking fee technologies, and a parking pilot project manger's name and contact information." (Until then, you can look at my page on the curbside parking regulations around the ballpark.)
* DDOT has to submit a plan to the council and the ANCs with zone-specific parking management targets and with details on parking charges.
* DDOT has to conduct quarterly public meetings to provide updates on the parking management targets and to receive public comments on the program.
* The mayor has to submit an annual report on the parking pilots with all sorts of statistics.
Speaking of parking, the March Hill Rag has a roundup on the parking plans for the area (similar to my page). And I've been very remiss in not reporting that Feb. 21 Zoning Commission hearing on allowing additional temporary surfacing parking lots in Southwest was continued to March 24 after representatives of DDOT were not in attendance to discuss traffic management plans for the new lots. The Hill Rag has a summary of the Feb. 11 ANC meeting where there was much unhappiness about these potential new lots.
UPDATE: Bad link to bill text fixed.
UPDATE II: DDOT is now announcing a public meeting on March 12 from 6 to 8:30 pm at 20 M St., SE, for "residents and business owners and operators to review and comment on the most recent version of the Transportation and Residential Curbside Management Plan (often referred to as the Transportation Operations and Parking Plan (TOPP)). 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. The meeting is 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 TOPP was originally drafted to address concerns by residents on the expected increase in vehicular movement during stadium events in the southeast and southwest neighborhoods surrounding the ballpark. Representatives from the DC Sports and Entertainment Commission (DCSEC) and the Nationals will also be available to address concerns and answer questions." (This is the meeting that was described in testimony at the city council last week as being "at the ballpark." I guess they used "at the ballpark" in the same literary way one could say that the Navy Yard Metro station is "at the ballpark." Ah well.)
 

NoMa Gets NPR HQ
A press release just out from the mayor's office announces that National Public Radio will be building its new headquarters at 1111 North Capitol Street--a disappointment to the buildings in Near Southeast that had been courting the company during its search for 400,000 square feet of available space. (The city may be disappointed as well, given that rumors abounded last fall that they were trying to have NPR take over the lease at the old Post Plant at 225 Virginia Avenue.)
UPDATE: Here's the Washington Business Journal article on the move.
 

Food at the Ballpark, Mapped Out
Last week we had the announcement of the local eateries that will be selling food at the ballpark (including Ben's Chili Bowl, Hard Times Cafe, Cantina Marina, and others). Today's Food section in the Post folows up with a story on the offerings, along with a pretty cool map showing where the various concessions will be located in the ballpark. There are nearly 80 more concession "points of sale" at the new ballpark compared to RFK, and there will be just over 64,000 square feet of restaurant square footage on South Capitol Street, up from a mere 8,900 at RFK. And of course 41,222 more cupholders at the seats than at RFK.
UPDATE: I'm adding all this to my Stadium FAQ section on food offerings, but I might as well post it here as well (gleaned from one of the handouts at yesterday's home plate ceremony):
There will be 49 concession stands at the ballpark, and nearly 200 "points of sale." In addition to the local vendors listed above, the usual fare will be available: hot dogs, sausages, hamburgers, pizza, nachos, popcorn, pretzels, Cracker Jacks, candy, peanuts, and sunflower seeds. There will also be specialty items available, including vegetarian burgers, hot dogs and chili, caesar salads, crab cake sandwiches, crab pretzels, Buffalo chicken sandwiches, burritos and tacos, corned beef, pastrami, turkey, and roast beef sandwiches, fish and chips, Old Bay fries, and soft serve sundaes.
There will also be additional specialty items from "around the National League." Some will be available at every game, such as Philly cheesesteaks (Phillies), Sheboygan brats (Brewers), BBQ pulled pork sandwiches (Braves), and garlic fries (Giants). Others will be available when certain teams come to town: SW Loaded Nachos for the Diamondbacks, Chicago Style Dogs for the Cubs, chili cheese dogs for the Reds, Buffalo burgers for the Rockies, Cuban sandwiches for the Marlins, Texas brisket for the Astros, California sushi rolls for the Dodgers, Knishes for the Mets, pierogies for the Pirates, fried ravioli for the Cardinals, and fish tacos for the Padres.
The concession stand in the family Strike Zone will offer kids meals, a build-your-own peanut butter and jelly sandwich bar, and other food for kids.
Comments (0)
More posts: Retail, Nationals Park
 

Raze Permits for 23 I Street Lots
Raze permits have now been filed for the Wendy's at 23 I Street and its little gray neighbor at 901 Half Street on the corner of Half and I. These two lots totaling about 47,300 square feet were purchased in late July for $28.625 million by JPI, and the company is planning "23 Eye at Capitol Yards," a 421-unit residential building with up to 35,000 square feet of retail space. Late last year JPI was saying that 23 I would start construction this August--I haven't seen anything lately on whether that's still the case. I haven't had a chance to swing by Wendy's to see if they have a closing date, so if anyone thinks to ask while they're at the drive-through window, let me know. This project would be the youngest of the four Capitol Yards siblings, joining 70/100 I arriving later this year just across the street and 909 New Jersey coming in 2009 one block to the east.
 

Roundup: Ticket Sales and Home Plate Event
It's been a wild day for me, and with my needing to watch election results late into the night for my real job I figure I'd better squeeze in this link roundup now. Most stories cover both the ticket sales this morning (Opening Day sold out in minutes, though there's still plenty of tickets for the other 80 home games this season) and this afternoon's scoreboard unveiling together, so I'm just going to give you the big pile o'links to plow through.
NBC 4 has video of the scoreboard in action, while The Post goes into detail on the difficulties fans had getting into the ticket systems by phone and online. Channel 9's report also included some coverage of traffic and parking issues (plan ahead!). WTOP posted separate stories on the tickets and on the scoreboard. The WashTimes has both video (including the departure from RFK) and photos. You can also see the opening video played on the scoreboard on this YouTube clip (there was talk that the Nats would post it online, but I haven't found it yet).
MLB.com has coverage of the scoreboard and the latest progress at the ballpark, and a separate roundup of ballpark-related items, including confirmation of the longtime rumor that President Bush has been invited to throw out the Opening Day pitch. It also talk about the tours of the ballpark that will be available later in the season, and the family entertainment area known as the Strike Zone in the ground floor of the eastern parking garage that will have pitching and batting cages, a Playstation station, karaoke, and the Build-a-Bear outlet. (There's more on this stuff in the fact sheet handouts from today, which I'll try to get to soon.)
Is that enough for you? :-)
And, of course, there's my photos from the unveiling. And I've also now added more photos from today to my main Stadium Interior Gallery, although alas today's weather wasn't really much better than the last time I was there. (But at least the tarp is gone!) And if you're a fan of the mega panoramas I've been posting, there's three new ones of those, too.
UPDATE: According to Tom Boswell, Nats players are just as obsessively refreshing the Stadium Web Cam as the rest of us, counting the minutes until they get to take the field at their new home (and banish the not-so-great memories of RFK).
UPDATE II: More than 40,000 tickets were sold yesterday, far above the 10,000 sold on the first day of individual ticket sales last year, for RFK.
Comments (0)
More posts: Nationals Park
 

Home Plate Arrives Home at Nationals Park
I've slapped together a pile of photos from today's ceremonial installation of home plate and the unveiling of the scoreboard--there'll be a ton of media coverage to come as well. I'll still be posting other photos from today in my Ballpark Interior Photo gallery, but that might have to wait a day or two and so hopefully this can tide you over.
Comments (0)
More posts: Nationals Park
 

The Scoreboard, and Recent Items Re-Linked
One quick outbound link this morning, to The Post's piece on the scoreboard at Nationals Park, in advance of today's official unveiling.
Plus, here's a few links for recent items that you might have missed in the flurry of posts around here these days:
* I posted new photos of the ballpark exterior, including the Center Field Gate at Half and N. (I'll probably have new interior photos later today, though the weather doesn't look to be that much better than the last time I was inside, on that icky dreary day.)
* Read the damn Ballpark Traffic Management Plan already. And my pages on on-street parking and taking Metro. And the new pages by Metro and the Nationals about getting to the games. (And listen for the radio ads that debuted yesterday urging fans to take Metro.)
* Monument Realty has won a preliminary injunction preventing WMATA from selling the Southeastern Bus Garage to Akridge.
* Watch for announcements of a community meeting about Opening Day on March 12, at the ballpark.
And, a reminder: the parking garages that look so stark in photos from inside the ballpark will have big banners draped on them by Opening Day. So what you see now is not what you're going to see in four weeks.
 

More Updated Photos and Progress Reports
Yesterday I posted a whole batch of updated photos of the ballpark's exterior; today you can check out the project pages for the residential projects 70/100 I Street, Onyx (both opening later this year) and Velocity (2009) along with the office projects 100 M (2008) and 55 M (2009) for lots of new shots of those projects, or you can look at alllllll the photos from yesterday on a single page (ballpark shots, too). Don't forget the icon if you want to look at how an intersection has changed over the past few years.
Items of note from my wanderings:
* The south side of I Street is now paved between New Jersey Avenue and Half Street, and I've been told that I Street will be "driveable" by Opening Day;
* First Street is now paved south of K, and paving up to I doesn't look far off;
* The Merritt Cab garage at First and K now has a "Moving March 31, 2008" sign on it; and
* JPI's 909 New Jersey Avenue residential building (between I and K) is not far from reaching ground level, so be prepared for the arrival of another skeleton in the skyline before long.
If *I'm* finding it all hard to comprehend and harder to keep up with, I can only imagine how non-obsessive observers must feel. I'm kind of looking forward to the pace slowing back down a bit come May....
 

Monday Morning Roundup and Reminders
* The tarp is coming off the field today--look at that pretty turf! It's probably being done today because Tuesday the Nats are holding a ceremony to install home plate and officially unveil the HD scoreboard (not open to the public).
* The Examiner reports that Metro is tamping down expectations a bit for performance along the Green line for weeknight ballgames: "The transit agency expects the number of riders on the Green Line, which serves the Navy Yard station near the ballpark, to more than triple on game days. But Metro can't add more cars to that section of the system during the week because all of its 820 railcars are committed to rush hour service, officials said." So, perhaps that notion of walking from Capitol South is looking more attractive--I've added to my Take Metro! page a map of the JDLand Suggested Route between Capitol South and the stadium, along with a few photos showing the current state of New Jersey Avenue (which certainly isn't as scary as it used to be).
And, Tuesday is just chock full of Near Southeast-related activities. In addition to the ceremony mentioned above, there's also these items to remember:
* Single-game ticket sales open at 9 am (yes, including Opening Day).
* The City Council will be meeting at 10 am for its monthly legislative meeting, and the agenda includes emergency legislation to enact the "Performance Parking Pilot Zone Emergency Act of 2008", B17-0644, the "Ballpark Safety Emergency Amendment Act of 2008", and B17-0608, the "Vending Regulation Emergency Act of 2008". It's in Room 500 of the Wilson Building, beginning at 10 am, and will be broadcast on DC cable 13 and live webcast.
* The first of two public meetings on the South Capitol Street Draft Environmental Impact Statement is at 6:30 pm at Birney Elementary School, 2501 Martin Luther King Jr., Ave., SE, from 6:30-8:30 pm. The second one is Wednesday night (March 5) at Amidon Elementary School, 401 I St., SW, also from 6:30-8:30 pm.
 

Updated Ballpark Exterior Photos
I made the trek down to the ballpark today to update my Exterior Photo Gallery (it makes me a bit wistful to think that I might not be doing this too many more times!). This is not a complete update (let the be your guide); with the morning sunlight, I stuck mainly to the southern and eastern sides of the stadium, though I did also get some shots of the work being done at the Center Field Gate at Half and N, including the bitchin' Team Store sign that's now hung on the corner of the western parking garage. Other items worth noting:
* The southern parking lot is now blacktopped, and blue fences now separate it from Potomac Avenue.
* The Walk of Fame from the Potomac/South Capitol intersection up to the Home Plate Gate is moving along.
* The Grand Staircase now has lamps and handrails.
* The stadium's address has now been hung (1500 South Capitol Street, SE)--except that it was hung on the entrance to the loading dock on First Street south of N.
* Some workers were picking up trash along Potomac Avenue.
* They're still not letting "civilians" onto First Street, Potomac Avenue, or N Street. So if you want to do a drive-by (as a bunch of people were attempting to do this morning), you're going to get turned back at First and N.
If you want a more complete batch of before-and-afters, check out the First, Potomac, and N Street expanded galleries.
Tomorrow I'll be posting new photos of all the other activity near the ballpark, including the paving of one lane of I Street (yay!) and the near-completion of First Street's widening and repaving (yay!). And of course the latest views of Onyx, 100 M, 70 I, and Velocity.
Comments (0)
More posts: Nationals Park
 

28 Days to Go - Post Reports on Ballpark Status
The Post today has a long-ish summary on the current status of the ballpark's construction and the parking issues in "No Time to Rest in the Home Stretch." Nothing in it is really news for anyone who follows things around here (especially if you've looked at my photos of the interior of the ballpark taken last week), except for the news that the certificate of occupancy could come within a week and that cherry blossom trees on the outfield concourse will be planted soon....
Comments (0)
More posts: Nationals Park
 

Community Meeting (not) at the Ballpark on March 12; Additional Items from the Thursday Roundtable
At the end of Thursday's council roundtable on ballpark traffic operations and parking issues, a representative of the office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development told the council members that there will be a community meeting to provide stadium-related information to residents on March 12, to be held at the ballpark. An announcement flyer should be going out soon, they said.
Other items from the later portion of the meeting, which I've now finished watching (and which you can now watch via on-demand video):
* There are indeed "hundreds" of spaces in the parking lots surrounding the ballpark that were not purchased by season ticket holders, and the Nationals are looking at making those available for gameday purchase, but probably only via the Internet, and only in lots farther away from the ballpark. This is to avoid congestion in the area near the stadium, and also to prevent fans from driving to the area without a parking space already in hand.
* It appears that monthly parking contracts will be offered in the garages on the north end of the ballpark footprint, though that is still being worked out. (The city would receive 2/3 of the revenue from those contracts.)
* Tommy Wells asked a number of questions about vending carts around the ballpark, interested not so much in the economics but more about "more eyes on the streets", especially along New Jersey Avenue for fans walking to and from the stadium from the Capitol South subway station. There are apparently new regulations that Jim Graham said will most likely will pass at the March 4 council meeting that would require site-specific permits for street vendors and that would create "development zones", "essentially specific geographic areas with a uniform design standard that would be established through a partnership of DCRA, neighborhoods and their business improvement districts" (quoting myself quoting a February WBJ article--read the bill for more information). So it sounds like any planning for vending in the ballpark area is going to come down to the wire.
And, if you haven't looked at the Ballpark Traffic Management slides from the hearing that I posted yesterday, please do. There really is a wealth of information on traffic flow, where traffic officers will be posted, signal timing, routes to parking lots, and much more. It answers a lot of questions that fans and residents may have, but only if you look at it.
UPDATE, 3/5: Okay, so maybe "at the ballpark" was spoken by city officials in a literary sense, the same way that the Navy Yard Metro station is "at the ballpark". (Ahem.) The meeting is going to be held on March 12 from 6 to 8:30 pm on the 10th floor of 20 M Street, SE.
Comments (0)
More posts: parking, Nationals Park
 

Breaking: Monument Realty Wins Preliminary Injunction on Southeastern Bus Garage Sale
I've been passed the news that a judge has granted Monument Realty's request for a preliminary injunction prohibiting WMATA from taking "any further action to dispose of" the Southeastern Bus Garage. The two sides are to file recommendations on further proceedings by Wednesday at noon, and the injunction stays in effect until the court orders otherwise. Monument filed suit in October, asking that the planned sale be invalidated.
(Adding that this shouldn't, as best I can tell, delay the removal of the buses from the garage by Opening Day, since just yesterday the WMATA board approved a plan to fund the relocation of the buses with monies from other accounts and from the District, and not from any proceeds of the expected sale of the garage site.)
UPDATE: I now have a PDF of the ruling, which gives a lot of background on how the bidding process for the garage site was handled by WMATA. My background in law is slim to none, so I'm wanting to be very cautious about how I characterize all this (I'm sure there will be plenty of media coverage coming soon), but the ruling does state that Monument has "demonstrated a likelihood of success on the merits of their claim that they were substantially prejudiced when WMATA considered Akridge's nonresponsive bid and participated in improper ex parte discussions with Akridge."
UPDATE II: Here's a short Post piece on the ruling.
 

Fireworks Testing Now?
Anyone hearing any booms? A source on Capitol Hill is reporting much noise coming from the south, so perhaps the fireworks testing that's been promised lately is actually happening....
Comments (0)
More posts: Nationals Park
 

Feb 29, 2008 2:28 PM
Ballpark Traffic Management Details
I'm still working my way through the tape of last night's council roundtable on ballpark traffic and management issues. But I think fans and neighbors alike will be interested in the PowerPoint slides shown by DDOT director Emeka Moneme. There's a lot of detail on traffic flow and restrictions, most of which exists in the huge TOPP but which are more easily understood in these new graphics.
Look at the slides if you want to know: how DDOT will be attempting to address potential traffic bottlenecks in congested spots before and after games; where traffic control officers will be stationed, where left turns will be prohibited, what streets will be closed, where drop-off/pick-up locations will be (South Capitol Street), where the post-game taxi stand will be (Half Street north of M), where charter buses will be parked during games (Buzzards Point), where variable messaging signs will be posted around the region, how traffic signals will be retimed before and after games, how traffic will be routed to and from the parking lots before and after games, and where the signed bike paths are to and from the ballpark (bike racks will be available at the two parking garages just north of the stadium, and there will be the bike valet, too). (New on-street parking restrictions are in there, too, and are explained more fully on my Stadium Parking page.)
You'll also see in the slides that DDOT is expecting 52 percent of stadium-goers to arrive via Metro, though Moneme in his testimony said that Metro thinks that number could be closer to 60 percent.
DPW director Bill Howland said that there will be 12 parking enforcement officers and 12 tow trucks working to enforce the on-street parking restrictions in the area.
Other items from the hearing include:
* The DC Sports and Entertainment Commission and the Nationals now have "an agreement in principle" to let fans park for free at RFK, and the city will be reimbursed through a somewhat complicated give-and-take. There will be 55 motorcoach-style buses.
* As mentioned elsewhere recently, season ticket holder parking has been awarded to all who applied for it without using up all 4,700 spaces in the lots near the ballpark. The Nationals say they are looking at whether to offer some parking in those lots to non-season-ticket holders, but are concerned about how that might contribute to congestion, and so are still determining their strategy.
More as I get through the rest of the hearing. But seriously, look at the PowerPoint slides. There's a lot of good traffic flow information there.
Comments (0)
More posts: parking, Nationals Park
 

Feb 29, 2008 1:55 PM
Official Announcement of March 22 GW Game
From the Nationals, official word that the first baseball game at Nationals Park will indeed be the March 22 game between George Washington University and Saint Joseph's University, at 1:05 pm. As for the question that everyone's really asking: "The game will be privately ticketed and is not open to the public. A limited number of general admission tickets will be made available to the GW community after March 10. A valid GWorld identification will be required. Details will be released separately."
Comments (0)
More posts: Nationals Park
 

Feb 29, 2008 8:54 AM
Morning Roundup: Pope Tix Day, Metro Items
* Today's the day that the Archdiocese of Washington is announcing the distribution of tickets for the April 17 Mass by Pope Benedict at Nationals Park to churches in the District and suburban Maryland. The Post reports on the pleas that church officials are receiving from parishioners desperate to get one of the hottest tickets in town. A spokeswoman says they've received nearly twice as many requests as there are tickets. There are even raffles where the winner gets a ticket to the Mass.
* Metro has decided to create a one-day "Pope Pass" for $9 for the estimated 25,000 Pope-goers who will be arriving at the ballpark on the subway. (Normally one-day subway passes can only be purchased after 9:30 am, but because of security concerns, those going to the Mass are going to be arriving much earlier than the 10 am start time.)
* Metro's board gave final approval to expanding the hours of the N22 bus route that runs between Union Station, Eastern Market, and the east entrance of the Navy Yard station at New Jersey and M. It will now run on evenings and weekends to help shuttle stadium-goers between those locations. And the board also gave final approval of some money-shuffling that will allow the closure of the Southeastern Bus Garage at Half and M. More on both of these items can be found in these two entries.
* And, in one final Metro item, the Post reports that council member Jim Graham says "he has been contacted by Washington Nationals representatives who wanted to know if the name of the Navy Yard Station could be changed to reflect the name of the corporation that buys the larger naming rights of the stadium." Answer? No way. Uh-uh. Nope. Forget it.
 

Feb 28, 2008 1:01 PM
New Photos, from Up High and from Across the River
Let's take a breather from all this parking stuff (which I had my fill of about two years ago) and get back to the original JDLand modus operandi--posting lots of photos of the neighborhood. Yesterday's press conference on the-subject-I-just-said-I-wasn't-going-to-talk-about was held on the 10th floor of 20 M Street, giving me a chance to update my photos from that perch, with views of 70/100 I, Velocity (now working on floor #2), the 1015 Half Street site (where nothing seems to be happening just yet), 55 M, and the ballpark. You can see all photos I've taken from atop 20 M in the past 10 months, or just compare the oldest and newest ones (there's been a few changes!).
Switching to the opposite side of the neighborhood, I took a few shots from Poplar Point on Sunday of the ballpark and The Yards.
You can also see all the new photos (along with the ones taken inside the ballpark looking out at the surrounding neighborhood) on a single page.
I hope to get out this weekend and update the ground-level photos of all the latest happenings.
 

Feb 28, 2008 10:22 AM
Roundtable on Traffic Operations and Parking Tonight
Passing along a reminder, via my Ballpark and Beyond column in today's District Extra of the Post: "A roundtable by two D.C. Council committees on the city's plans for traffic and parking at Nationals Park begins at 6 tonight in Room 120 of the Wilson Building. Considering that the last hearing on stadium-related parking issues lasted until almost midnight, you might prefer to watch tonight's session in the comfort of your home, where you'll have access to your kitchen cabinets and coffee maker. The roundtable can be seen on Channel 13 on D.C. cable systems or on the Web."
I won't be able to watch it live, but hopefully I can post a summary of it before too long, unless the current focus on the stadium by the local media takes care of it for me. If so, my feelings wouldn't be hurt. Really. It's all yours.
I should mention here that what's long been known as the Draft Transportation Operations and Parking Plan (TOPP) is now apparently the final version of how traffic is going to be handled, at least until they see how it works on Opening Day and then start tweaking it (which DDOT and other agencies fully expect to be the case). So if you want to know the nitty-gritty of traffic and pedestrian flow, the TOPP is the place to look. And I imagine the residents testifying at tonight's roundtable might have an issue or two with it.
Other items in today's column were the latest tidbits on Diamond Teague Park, a reminder of the meetings next week on the South Capitol Street Draft Environmental Impact Statement, and photos of the new freeway and bike route signage pointing to the ballpark. And just a note that the column will be taking the next two weeks off, and will be back on March 20--if there's anything left for me to write about that isn't already covered in this All Things Ballpark media blitz.
 

Feb 28, 2008 8:23 AM
Your Morning Ballpark Roundup
* Washington City Paper's cover story this week is "Inside Baseball", a series of vignettes about "winners and losers" around the ballpark. It highlights neighbors such as the Market Deli at First and L and Positive Force around the corner on New Jersey Avenue (and former neighbors such as Ken Wyban, owner of the house at Van and N that was demolished), and talks about the "lost" views of the Capitol from many sections within the stadium. Plus there's quotes from a couple of residents of the nearby housing projects in Southwest that they've "been told" they're going to be moved out, despite vehement denials by the Housing Authority.
* A three-person arbitration board ruled unanimously that the Nationals and not the District should pay for "ancillary items at the new stadium, such as golf carts, fork lifts, and medical and office equipment," saving the city $4.2 million and keeping expenditures within the $611 million cost cap, according to WTOP.
* Links to the avalanche of stories about the new on-street parking plan around the ballpark are at the end of my entry about it from yesterday. Perhaps the saturation coverage--and the advertising campaign by the team scheduled to start next week--will indeed drill into the noggins of the public what's been said for months now: that really, truly, you're not going to find on-street parking, and traffic's going to be crazy anyway. So just take Metro. (And read this Dr. Gridlock blog entry and its comments to get a sense of the wide-ranging views of the public on using Metro. And have fun with the writer who discussed the "questionable neighborhood" the N22 bus goes through--you know, Capitol Hill.)
* And, what if nearby residents start scalping their visitors passes?
* But can we also drill into the collective conscience that there's not "only 1,200 parking spaces" at the ballpark? Yes, the ballpark footprint itself has only 1,200 spaces, but the team has contracted with close-by lots to cobble together more than 4,000 spaces. As we found out in the Post, those didn't even all get taken by season-ticket holders and in fact may now allow for a small number of spaces to be made available on gamedays to non-season ticket holders.
 
1552 Posts:
Go to Page: 1 | ... 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 ... 156
Search JDLand Blog Posts by Date or Category




                  © Copyright 2024 JD.