PRIMARY RESOURCES

This is an exciting time. Over the next few days, millions of Americans and citizens from around the world will begin to descend on Downtown DC to celebrate President-elect Barack Obama’s Inaugural festivities. This Downtown Inauguration Alert is designed to keep businesses, workers and residents apprised of the latest updates pertaining to these activities, including access to Metro, street closings and security measures.

The Downtown BID wants everyone to have a safe and memorable experience. Information is key to achieving this goal—but information surrounding this historic event is subject to constant change. So, we’re also providing links to primary agencies and organizations that have the most accurate and up-to-date details and activities listed so that you can plan your schedule and activities accordingly.

The Downtown BID’s Safety, Hospitality and Maintenance employees, known as SAMs, will be out in force, armed with information to help move the crowds along and find their destinations. They will be joined by volunteers from the Presidential Inaugural Committee (PIC), who will be stationed at Metrorail stations and along the Parade route. The PIC has already met with our SAMs to stress how important our personnel are to the whole process and to ask for their continued, and reassuring, presence on Downtown streets. 

Here’s more about what you can expect:

GETTING AROUND

Security Measures
A heightened police presence will be very evident beginning Friday, January 16, when DC Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) officers begin working 12-hour shifts. They will arrive Downtown on bikes, motorcycles and foot patrols. Thousands of out-of-town officers, as well as contingents from the U.S. Park Police, Secret Service, National Guard, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and other law enforcement agencies, will join them over the next few days.

Inaugural Secure Zone (click image for expanded view)

Closures are expected to begin as early as 3:00 pm on Monday, January 19, and remain in place through 7:00 am on Wednesday, January 21. So far, plans call for the following vehicular checkpoints, all on the north side of Pennsylvania Avenue:

• 6th Street & Indiana Avenue
• 8th & F Streets
• 13th & I Streets

At this time, the pedestrian checkpoints are as follows:

• 3rd & C Streets
• 6th & C Streets
• Indiana, between 6th & 7th Streets
• 7th & D Streets
• 7th Street & Constitution Avenue
• Constitution, between 6th & 7th Streets
• 10th & E Streets
• 10th, between Pennsylvania & Constitution Avenues
• 12th & E Streets
• 12th, between Constitution & Pennsylvania Avenues
• 13th & E Streets
• 14th & E Streets

As for workplace security, the MPD understands that some businesses would like to supplement their resources by hiring licensed security officers or commissioned special police officers on Inauguration Day. To help facilitate the process, the MPD has prepared a list of security agencies licensed by MPD’s Security Officers Management Branch. Agencies on the list have indicated they are available to provide security assistance. More information is available at www.mpdc.dc.gov/.

Washington Convention Center Surrounding streets will be cordoned off and No Parking zones in force (click image for expanded view)

No parking zones will be in force from 9:00 am on Monday, January 19, to 9:00 am on Wednesday, January 21, around the Convention Center. Streets will be cordoned off beginning late morning or early afternoon on Tuesday, January 20. The restricted area will run roughly from a portion of O Street on the north to K Street and New York and Massachusetts Avenues on the south, to 6th Street on the east and 9th Street on the west.

Drop off sites for speedy deliveries only—businesses must have someone meet the driver and quickly unload items because parking will be prohibited—and for the balls are as follows:

• 10th Street and Massachusetts Avenue
• 10th and K Streets
• 9th Street and New York Avenue
• 7th Street and Massachusetts Avenue
• 6th and K Streets
• 6th Street and New York Avenue

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Transit Schedules
This week, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) announced it will extend Metrorail service by two hours on Monday, January 19, to 2:00 am on Tuesday. Normally, service ends at midnight on weekdays and 3:00 am on Friday and Saturday.

A look at how trains will run during Inaugural week:

• Saturday, January 17: 7:00 am - 3:00 am
• Sunday, January 18: 7:00 am - midnight
• Monday, January 19: 5:00 am - 2:00 am
• Tuesday, January 20: 4:00 am - 2:00 am

WMATA will operate unprecedented rush-hour service for 17 consecutive hours on Inauguration Day, from 4:00 am until 9:00 pm. Rush-hour fares will apply. After midnight on Monday and Tuesday, all Red Line trains will run 15 minutes apart, and all Blue, Orange, Yellow and Green Line trains will run 20 minutes apart.

Persons that must travel in Downtown during Inaugural week should allocate plenty of travel time. Trains might not be able to stop at stations that are deemed to be overcrowded for safety reasons. Should this happen, they will need to get off at the next possible stop and walk back toward their destination station.

Bus passengers can expect Metrobus service to operate on a “modified” Saturday schedule from 4:00 am to 9:00 pm on Inauguration Day. WMATA will sell a one-day Inauguration bus pass, which can be purchased for $5 upon boarding; it will be good for the entire day. A word of caution: some detours will occur because of street closures around the National Mall, Pennsylvania Avenue and near the US Capitol. Riders should check Metro’s website, www.wmata.com/, to see whether bus routes will be diverted because of last-minute street closures. Walking may be the best transportation option, if possible.

The District Department of Transportation (DDOT) announced changes to DC Circulator bus service yesterday. Because of road closures and security restrictions, bus routes will be affected from Friday, January 16, through Wednesday, January 21.

The Circulator will operate as follows, although additional route changes and delays are possible due to intermittent road closures:

• Friday, January 16: Regular service and hours from Union Station to Georgetown and from the Convention Center to the Southwest Waterfront.
   
  
• Saturday, January 17: Regular service and hours from Union Station to Georgetown, the Convention Center to the Southwest Waterfront, and on the National Mall loop.
  
  
• Sunday, January 18: Regular service and hours from Union Station to Georgetown and from the Convention Center to the Southwest Waterfront; the National Mall loop will run regular hours from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm, but will not serve the stop at 17th and Constitution, which will run northbound on 14th Street instead. In addition, if streets are closed for crowd control, the National Mall loop route may stop operating before 6:00 pm.
  
  
• Monday, January 19: The Convention Center to the Southwest Waterfront route will stop operating at 1:00 pm. Passengers are advised to use Metrobus route 70 as an alternate, although buses will not be allowed to cross Pennsylvania Avenue. The Union Station to Georgetown route will operate regular service between 7:00 am and 3:00 pm and will not be able to access Union Station after that time; buses will use an alternate route.  All Union Station passengers are advised to use the nearest stop located at North Capitol and H Streets, NW. 
  • Traveling toward Union Station on Massachusetts Avenue, NW, buses will turn north on 5th Street, travel eastbound on K Street and terminate on North Capitol Street at H Street.
  • Traveling toward Georgetown, buses will begin on H Street, NW at North Capitol Street, travel down H Street to Massachusetts Avenue and return to their regular route.
    
    
• Tuesday, January 20: All regular service will be suspended. 
  • Metrobus will operate replacement east-west service downtown from H Street, at North Capitol Street (near Union Station) to Washington Circle (24th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue) via L and M Streets.
  • Special service Metrobuses on L Street will begin on the south side of Washington Circle, just east of 23rd Street, and end at H and North Capitol Streets near Union Station. These special service Metrobuses will have placards indicating "North Capitol Street" as their destination.
  • Special service Metrobuses on M Street will begin at H and North Capitol Street, near Union Station and end on 23rd Street just north of Washington Circle. These special service Metrobuses will have placards indicating "Washington Circle" as their destination.
  • Metrobuses will provide Georgetown service on Wisconsin Avenue and M Street, between Friendship Heights and Washington Circle. Georgetown buses will begin and end on Pennsylvania Avenue between 24th and 25th Streets, just west of Washington Circle.
    
    
• Wednesday, January 21: Regular service and hours from Union Station to Georgetown and from the Convention Center to the Southwest Waterfront.

For more information, visit www.dccirculator.com/.

Metrorail Station Closings
The Archives-Navy Memorial/Penn Quarter station on Metro’s Green and Yellow Lines and the Smithsonian station on the Blue and Orange Lines will be closed on Inauguration Day and reopen after the parade at about 6:30 pm. The Judiciary Square station on the Red Line will close at 4:00 pm and the Mt. Vernon Sq/7th St-Convention Center station on the Green and Yellow Lines will close at 7:30 am. Both stations are near official Inaugural Ball sites and are scheduled to reopen on Wednesday, January 21, at 5:00 am.

To move as many people as possible into and out of the Metrorail system, several stations will have entrances designated as either exits or entrances on Inauguration Day. These stations are as follows:

Metro Center Red, Blue and Orange Lines

Gallery Pl-Chinatown Red, Yellow and Green Line

Pedestrian Access
On Inauguration Day, security will be tight, to say the least. Thirteen public entry points to the Inaugural Parade will be set up in Downtown neighborhoods. These screening points will open at 7:00 am on Tuesday, January 20, and remain open until the parade route can no longer accommodate more people. Persons conducting business in the Downtown area should plan to arrive as early as possible in order to ensure passage through the screening points. Long lines are expected.

The checkpoints are as follows: 

• 2nd and C Streets
• 3rd and C Streets
• Indiana Avenue, between 6th and 7th Streets
• 7th and D Streets
• 10th and E Streets
• 12th and E Streets
• E Street, just east of 13th Street
• 13th Street, just North of E Street
• 14th Street, just North of E Street
• 12th Street, between Constitution and Pennsylvania Avenues
• 10th Street, between Constitution and Pennsylvania Avenues
• 7th Street, between Constitution and Pennsylvania Avenues
• Constitution Avenue, between 6th and 7th Streets

Another word of caution: access to the parade route from south of Pennsylvania Avenue, including the National Mall area, will be available via 12th Street or 14th Street at Constitution Avenue only.

Transit Alternative
Those persons looking to beat the crowds flooding public transportation would do well to consider biking, if possible, on Inauguration Day. The Washington Area Bicyclist Association (WABA), with support from the District Department of Transportation (DDOT), will be providing free valet bike parking services at two locations. The valets will be located on the south side of the Jefferson Memorial and on 16th Street, between I and K Streets. Both locations will be open from 7:00 am to 5:00 pm and WABA is prepared to park well over 2,000 bikes. In case of extreme weather, the valets will be closed, although unattended bike parking racks will still be available for use. To find the best bike routes to the valets and for other information, visit www.waba.org/.

SmartBike users should be aware that the service will not be available from Friday, January 16, through Thursday, January 22, at the McPherson Square, Metro Center, Gallery Place and Judiciary Square Metrorail stations.

Business Hours
Most retail establishments will be open on Inauguration Day. However, most office buildings will be closed due to the holiday. Restaurants and eateries with special Inaugural hours can be found at www.downtowndc.org/inaugural-dining.

PRIMARY RESOURCES

Keeping Up With Plans
Because of security and other issues related to such a massive event, Inaugural plans and information are subject to change, which can disrupt business and office plans, as well as workers’ abilities to get to and from work. To stay abreast of the latest Inaugural news, visit the following websites:

• DC Government: City officials have a special website devoted to information about the events surrounding the Presidential Inauguration, including closures, transportation, security measures and lodging. Visitors to the website can also map a virtual parade route and sign up for real-time text messaging alerts. www.inauguration.dc.gov/.
    
  
• District Department of Transportation: To assist with all the strategic planning and shuffling that will be needed to navigate through Inaugural week, DDOT has created a new, comprehensive website with handy Inaugural tips for residents, workers and visitors. For a list of road closures and parking restrictions, visit www.gettingthere.dc.gov/.
   
  
• US Secret Service: Under the leadership of the US Department of Homeland Security, the Secret Service is working with local, state and federal public safety officers to plan security for the Presidential Inauguration. The agency’s website has information on road closures and Metro, security screenings, prohibited items, security screening entry points, air security and water security. www.secretservice.gov/.
   
  
• Presidential Inaugural Committee: The legal entity that raises and disburses funds for events surrounding the Presidential Inauguration also is responsible for planning official Inaugural events. PIC offers a website where users can check the Inaugural schedule, review press releases, sign-up for email updates, make a donation, and much more. www.pic2009.org/.
   
  
• Destination DC: Tons of information about transportation, hotels, events and volunteer opportunities are available at www.washington.org/inauguration.
   
  
• Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority: People can sign up to receive special e-alerts, which will be issued when Metro has news relating to service for the Inauguration, and, perhaps more importantly, when there may be service disruptions during the course of the four-day Inauguration weekend. www.wmata.com/inauguration.