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Inauguration Day: Getting to work in D.C. will be a bit of a challenge Date published: 1/11/2009
UNLESS you've been living under a rock, you know that Jan. 20 is Inauguration Day in Washington, and that commuting patterns have been altered drastically to "help things run smoother." Most federal employees have been given the day off, but many government contractors and most of private industry will be open for business. If you plan to drive into the District or anywhere near Northern Virginia on that day, forget about it. Find public transportation--if you can. I say that because even some of the old reliable public transportation modes have turned against you and are making the journey to Washington sound more and more like a nightmare. Virginia Railway Express, for instance, will not accept regular commuting tickets on Inauguration Day. Instead, it is selling a $25 round-trip ticket. These trains, six in the morning and seven in the evening, will run pretty close to the regular VRE schedule. However, they will not stop at Franconia/Springfield, Alexandria or Crystal City. Since VRE first announced this policy, the outcry has been overwhelming from the monthly-ticket holders who are required to work that day. So VRE has agreed to provide a reserved ticket to any monthly-ticket holder who submits a signed form from his employer certifying that he is required to work that day. Commuters who hold monthly tickets and send the form to VRE will be issued round-trip tickets for the reserved trains on Inauguration Day. In addition, overnight parking will not be permitted in any of the VRE parking lots over the long weekend preceding the inauguration, Jan. 16-20. Finally, if you were hoping Amtrak would save you, it will not. Amtrak is not honoring step-up tickets for any trains on Monday, which is a federal holiday, or Tuesday, Inauguration Day. In fact, even if you think you might be willing to pay the full Amtrak fare, check in advance to make sure trains are not sold out. The Washington Metro system will operate under rush-hour status for 17 hours, 4 a.m.-9 p.m., which means it will cost more to ride during the day. It will also keep the system running until 2 a.m.
it's already been done with Stafford County schools, why doesn't everyone else follow suit?
The Secret Service and other security agencies have lost their minds this time. We have never closed all these routes for other inaugurations, so why now? I hope that everyone I know who commutes will be able to take the day off, if not there will be a lot of upset, angry commuters and a total traffic nightmare that day. I anticipate traffic backe dup all the way to Richmond.
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