Attention drivers who block traffic on the Hopscotch Bridge to pick up Union Station passengers: You don’t have to do that anymore!

The Union Station Redevelopment Corporation says two new lots — one for “cellphone waiting” and the other a Kiss & Ride, both located in the same spot near the H Street NE entrance — recently opened inside the garage. While this reporter’s mind immediately went to the impending streetcar service on the bridge as a reason for the lots, Corinne Schieffer of USRC says that’s just part of the reason.

“We’ve noticed a recent increase in taxi drivers and cars dropping and picking up passengers on the H Street bridge instead of the front of the station,” she said via email. “This has caused a back-up in the traffic and potentially un-safe loading/unloading. As a way to alleviate that, we’ve opened the new kiss & ride lot to provide a safer drop-off and loading area for passengers.”

According to Schieffer, Union Station sees 37 million visitors a year.

Courtesy Union Station Redevelopment Corporation.