You’ve got a car. But hey, you’re not planning on driving anywhere during Inaugural weekend. So no problems, right? Well, maybe.

The swarming mass of tour buses which will arrive on the morning of the 20th may cancel out your ability to park curbside in some locations of the city. Yesterday, City Administrator Dan Tangherlini outlined where the large metal chariots will be able to plunk down that day. In short: if you live anywhere inside a rectangle formed by 11th, 21st, K, and P Streets, well, you may need to adapt to a chugging metal box parking somewhere in your neighborhood. The same goes if you’re located northwest of Union Station, or most anywhere in Southwest D.C., among other locales.

Well, so what, right? There’s always a whole bunch of tour buses in the District, and it doesn’t seem too bad. But with the unbelievably large quantity of buses arriving — estimates have the number around 10,000 — parking rules could become a real issue if you live in a designated zone. The Post’s report notes that most of the areas designated for bus parking will have all curbside space reserved for said buses, beginning at 12:01 a.m. on January 20. Tangherlini said that no buses will be parked in front of residences — but the last time we checked, it’s fairly difficult to actually get a parking space directly in front of your residence. More likely than not, you park down the street, or around the block, where such a “residence rule” might not be in effect — and then you could be stuck going to the impound amidst the insanity of the Inauguration.

The Post’s map is a pretty handy reference to see if you’ll be privy to close quarters with buses — if you live inside a bus zone, it might not be a bad idea to factor in any potential automotive moves you’ll need to make.

Photo by christaki.