Photo by Kevin H..

Remember those fancy renderings of Nationals Park, the ones which showed it as a center of lively activity from both the land and the river? While the development freeze on the land side has been well documented, we were recently wondering about what’s been going on with the plans to make the riverside a fun place to hang out too.

One component of that development was the integration of a water taxi port outside the grand staircase to the stadium. And while there were plenty of folks who didn’t think that the water taxi service from Alexandria (or otherwise to the ballpark would ever become a reality, that long-awaited day has finally come: WTOP reports that the Potomac Riverboat Company will finally execute an expansion that’s been in the works since 2007 and begin offering service between Alexandria and the National Harbor to the stadium on game nights:

[Potomac Riverboat Company Vice President Charlotte] Hall says all of its existing service will stay the same, and no schedules or routes will be cut to accommodate added trips to Nationals Park. … Once it launches, Hall is pretty sure the Nationals Park taxi service will be a hit. She says the company’s received “hundreds and hundreds of emails from residents asking for this type of service.”

So, obviously, we weren’t the only ones wondering about it.

How much is this thing going to cost, anyway? Well, based on the current charge of $16 for a round-trip ride between Alexandria and the National Harbor, it probably won’t be the cheapest thing in the world. But it’s something nice for Alexandrians — and the fact that it might take a bit of congestion off the road is an added bonus.

Of course, while water taxis are nice, a more exciting part of the WTOP report to those of us who don’t live in northern Virginia is buried far at the bottom of the page:

“There’s a park that’s under construction which will give people the opportunity to picnic by the river before a ballgame,” says Michael Stevens, Executive Director of the Capital Riverfront Business Improvement District.

A “beer garden,” a picnic area, and water taxis? Now we’re getting somewhere!