The Manhattan Project
Controversy Over Rhee Now to Include Sex, Congress
Report: CCDC Split From UDC Is "Critical To Success"
Increased Urban Walkability For The Win
D.C. United Icon Ben Olsen To Retire
Good morning, Washington. It looks like California's still on fire, and likely to remain so. Most versions of the aforelinked AP story include the phrase "firefighters all but concede defeat," and the Post is calling the resulting evacuation the largest in modern history. It all sounds pretty grim. Good luck, West Coast.
Yet More Stadium Parking Controversy: The Post reports on the latest in a seemingly neverending series of deliberations over parking at the new baseball stadium. Yesterday the team announced that fans would be able to park at RFK for free and take a shuttle bus to the new ballpark. The announcement seems to have taken the D.C. Sports and Entertainment Commission by surprise — the city controls the parking at RFK, and they say that no final agreement has been reached.
Date Set For Va. Special Election: Virginia Governor Tim Kaine has announced a date for the special election to fill the seat of Congresswoman Jo Ann Davis, who passed away earlier this month. Residents of Virginia's First District will cast their ballots on December 11. Over at the Post's Virginia Politics Blog, commenters are speculating about whether the seat could change parties, with most concluding that a Democratic pickup remains very unlikely.
Briefly Noted: This morning's rain leads to traffic problems... Tape of former PG County official taking bribes shown at his corruption trial... Traffic snarls near Nissan Pavilion may be resolved three years earlier than planned... Teen killed by hit-and-run on Dulles Toll Road... DSU shooting victim from D.C. succumbs to injuries... Young girl sexually assaulted in Fairfax Wal-mart...
This Day In DCist: One year ago we were hoping a local woman would bring the Top Chef title home to D.C., and Jane Fernandez was fighting a round of what would prove to be an unsuccessful attempt to become president of Gallaudet.
Image posted to DCist Photos by by Flickr user outdoor type
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If you look really closely at the cloud on the left, it looks like the Pope's on fire.
Either that or the Vatican's activated the Popesignal.
Having grown up in LA and survived a Santa Anna brush fire, yesterday sounded like the turning point as the winds subsided. A Santa Anna fire is controlled when either the wind lets up or it burns to the sea, there is nothing you can do when it is gusting up to 80mph. But don’t feel too bad for those who lost homes, sure the lost memories suck, but insurance payoff is makes up for it. My neighborhood turned into Mc Mansionville once a brush fire ripped through our neighborhood and took out 20 or so homes. The people I really feel sorry for are those who’s housed survived amongst the ruin, they will enjoy the next few years of constant construction and monstrosities going up around them. But chin up SoCal, Mudslide season is just around the corner.
Leave it to the District to fuck up this RFK parking deal.
I'm sure this has been discussed before, but does anyone drive to Yankee stadium or Shea or Wrigley or Fenway? I honestly don't know but my guess is no.
Bob: Yes. We lived in NJ w/ no mass transit and would drive to Yankee Stadium. It sucked, but it was closer than Shea.
I don't see any problem. DC will just charge $20 a car to park at RFK; the owners will charge $10 a head to use the shuttle; everybody else will just pay the 5am-9pm "rush hour" fare to take Metro. Isn't the whole point of this stadium to generate the maximum tax revenue per square foot? It's a "lifestyle destination" people. That s**t don't come cheap. Ask anyone who's been to Axis.
This isn't a problem. It's an opportunity.
(For you wallet to get sodomized.)
So let me get this straight...DC drops $611 million on a new Nats stadium, and DC United will *still* have to arrange its schedule based on when the Nats are home? Great. No really, that's just super. Way to go, d-bags.
"I'm sure this has been discussed before, but does anyone drive to Yankee stadium or Shea or Wrigley or Fenway? I honestly don't know but my guess is no."
Absolutely. People from Westchester, Connecticut, and NJ definitely drive to Yankee Stadium (to take the train from the north, you have to go down to 125th st. and back-track on the subway. Since that's in Harlem, a lot of people would just prefer to take the Major Deegan instead. A train ride from NJ would be even more circuitous, I believe). Althought I believe there are plans to add a Metro North station in connection with the new stadium, so that may shift some people to the train.
Shea Stadium is like RFK in that it's surrounded by parking lots. Again, any one coming from the burbs will definitely drive, and I imagine a lot of people from Queens would drive there too.
Fenway is much more of a pain in the ass to drive to, has much less parking, and is much more accessible by the T and commuter rail. So I imagine a lot fewer people drive to Sox games.
I can't speak on Wrigley.
Tons of people drive to Fenway.
people definitely drive to wrigley. and create parking hell for neighborhood residents. there are also lots that i think cost under $10 and have free shuttle buses.
I drove to the one game at Yankee Stadium I went to a few years ago, had a hotel room in NJ. We parked in a garage directly adjacent to the 1B side of the stadium.... walked about 100-200 feet to the gate from there.
Plenty of parking lots around Camden Yards and Turner Field as well. Turner has a few yards in the neighborhood too but the houses are gone now that used to be right across from Fulton County Stadium where you could pay to park.
Yup. We always drove to Yankee Stadium. And we parked a couple blocks away, on the street, for free. How you like dem apples?
Dumb people drive to every stadium. At Wrigley, it creates a nightmare of traffic, but all the residents sell their front lawns, alley-ways, and whatever space they have as parking spots. Some people make really good money doing this. If you're really close to the stadium, you can charge over $30 for a spot.
I just hope the city is really diligent about ticketing baseball fans who park on nearby residential streets. I live a block from the new stadium and I'm dreading the day it's completed.
The good thing is, white suburbanites are so scared of my 'hood that I could probably make some extra cash "protecting" their cars while they watch the game.
I don't think DC's been terribly diligent about ticketing/towing around RFK. Even though they've got NO STADIUM PARKING signs for blocks around.
They have, however, been very adept at towing resident's and resident's visitor's cars.
"So let me get this straight...DC drops $611 million on a new Nats stadium, and DC United will *still* have to arrange its schedule based on when the Nats are home? Great. No really, that's just super. Way to go, d-bags."
Jesus, DC United fans are by far the biggest whiners out of any sport! I understand how it must suck to get bumped to second class status in a stadium that your team occupied first, but let's face it: MLS is not exactly on par with other major sports in terms of popularity and profitability.
Trust me, there are more than enough parking spots to go around. The lots around RFK can fit 10,000 cars, and there sure as hell aren't going to be 10,000 carloads of DC United fans showing up for a match, or 10,000 carloads of baseball fans parking at RFK and taking a shuttle to Nationals Park. And to add to that, it's unlikely that the two teams would want to schedule events at the same time, anyway. The Redskins and the Nats rarely, if ever play at the same time, and they even adjust their schedules to avoid as much overlap as possible. Hell, even the O's and Nats are never at home at the same time.
Yes. People drive to Wrigley. It was only as an adult that I realized how odd this was because there's a CTA stop right next to the field. (Although granted, it's hard to transfer from Metra to the CTA if you are coming from the Western suburbs. Well sorta.)
Anyway, we always drove to the stadium as a kid, or when I was in school. There's no official parking, so you make do with guys that have set up parking lots in vacant lots. And pay through the nose. Or you park on the street and walk a bunch. Either way.
Comiskey (or whatever the heck its called now) is more isolated. And so generally down there there is acres of empty land that has been bulldozed for parking. Still you can take the train, for big days -- opening, playoffs, etc. -- it makes more sense to take the train if you live someplace that is CTA accessible. still a lot of people park on the streets.
Now when the new Giants stadium was built in SF it specifically has NO parking. It's part of the SF's transit first plan. People still drive, of course, but end up parking a long ways away and taking transit to the stadium. Still it is served by trolly buses, light rail and suburban commuter trains that run to the peninsula. All within a couple blocks or less.
What are you talking about? AT&T Park has tons of parking right next to the stadium. Although maybe you're saying that it is separately and privately owned?
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&time=&date=&ttype=&q=At%26T+Park&sll=38.931671,-77.036474&sspn=0.011618,0.028667&ie=UTF8&ll=37.776498,-122.390656&spn=0.005902,0.017853&t=h&z=17&om=1
What does Wrigley do for parking for World Series?....oh wait...
Useing Street View on Google, you can clearly read $30 for Giants games at that huge parking lot.
Soccer = hockey for pussies.