The District is in the last stages of developing a handbook for moving tens of thousands of people in and out of the Washington Nationals new ballpark on game days.
The handbook “will define exactly how everything is going to be done on game days,” one planner said, including traffic and pedestrian movement, police presence, ambulance staging and fan parking. It will put in place specific mechanisms for movement, from when to restrict on-street parking to which roads to close for pedestrians.
The draft recommendations, presented to the D.C. Sports & Entertainment Commission Board of Directors Wednesday, will become a “manual” for virtually every D.C. government agency, said Louis Slade, vice president of Gorove/Slade, the commission’s lead consultant on the project. Metro, the MetropolitanPolice Department, Fire and Emergency Medical Services and the Department of Transportation, among others, will look to the “Traffic Operations and Parking Plan” as an action guide.
The final version of plan is expected in April, which would allow one year for implementation before Opening Day 2008. It will have to be flexible and easily transformed, as conditions “will change between now and two years from now and every month after that,” said Allen Lew, sports commission chief executive officer.
The draft recommendations were based on a weeknight sellout at the future 41,000-seat Southeast ballpark.
Under the draft plan, on-street parking would be restricted to residents, while fans would be urged to take Metro or park at one of multiple off-site lots and garages. Season ticket holders could even be assigned a specific lot based on the direction from which they arrive.
Variable message signs would be installed to direct traffic to or away from the stadium; sidewalks would be widened to handle the mass of pedestrians; and traffic signals would be adjusted based on vehicle volume and movement.
Emergency plans
» Stage three police vehicles inside loading dock for direct access to ballpark
» Dedicate 20 parking spaces nearby for police
» Park police command bus, arriving three hours before game time, on Potomac Avenue
» Places ambulances in southern garage, in loading dock and on South Capitol Street
Bigger restaurant slated
The Washington Nationals will pay $2.8 million to build a larger-than-planned restaurant at the new stadium.
Adopted designs for the Southeast ballpark contemplated a circular, one-story “Centerfield Restaurant” to be built along the outfield wall. Of the project’s capped $611 million budget, $2.43 million was set aside for the eatery.
But the Lerner family, owner of the team, indicated a preference for a two-story, rectangular restaurant. Revised designs were developed; the price tag came to roughly $5 million and the Lerners agreed to pay the difference. The D.C. Sports & Entertainment Commission board of directors approved the change order Wednesday.
The team is also adding individual bathrooms for all luxury suites with $1.8 million from the Nationals contingency fund. – Michael Neibauer
