inauguration lockdown
Mon Jan 18 23:17:19 EST 2021
I biked into DC this afternoon. I had not been on the bike since the end of November.
I rode north to Chain Bridge and the C&O Canal towpath, my preferred commute route to the office. I stopped to help a woman with a flat rear tire. She'd liberated a years-unused bike (a nice Gary Fisher mountain bike) from a friend's shed. The front tire was flat, and a bike shop took care of that for her. She asked them about the rear, and they advised her not to worry about it. I think the shop was right. It wasn't age or dry rot; something poked through this (tire and) tube.
She didn't know how to patch a tire. She didn't have a patch kit, tools, or a pump. But she was ready to learn. She now knows there's 2 common valve types. She knows she needs to carry patches and tire levers. And a few paper towels are good to have. I think she will be able to do it on her own next time. (And after a little practice, she will be able to rescue someone else. ☺)
I'm always glad to see people return to cycling. Winter's a surprising time for it, though.
Sunset comes early (17:13, according to the OpenWeather Gnome shell extension), and I didn't want to be out late (more for the cold than the dark), so this cut into my riding time. Coming out of Georgetown on K St, the road was blocked at Washington Circle. I rode NE on New Hampshire Ave, and then SE on Massachusetts Ave. I caught a gap in the traffic, so I rode through the tunnel under Thomas Cir. At Mt Vernon Sq, 9th St was blocked going south. I came away from the square going NE on New York Ave, turned south on 6th St, and east on K St. K goes over I-395 and under the railroad tracks, and gets me east of Union Station. A few neighborhood streets (4th, G, 2nd) got me to my office on the east side of Union Station. This was 10.72mi (17.252km), less than a mile (1.6km) added to my normal commute route. (You're not getting near the White House - where some total stranger with a good camera took my userpic - for now.)
Some of the agency's ground-level windows are covered with plywood again(? or still?), but not as many as before the November elections. (This time it's mostly just the first of the three connected buildings.) F St at 2nd was blocked off with 3 guards in fatigues posted. (F St is one-way oncoming at that point, but I sometimes see drivers take it the wrong way. People wanting to get to Union Station (or to park at my workplace) would try it.) There were also guards on 2nd St outside the Judiciary Building, but they looked like just the regular security staff.
All the road closures I saw were staffed by the National Guards or Metro Police. Humvees or SUVs parked across the roads.
I took a more direct route home; shaved off 0.23mi (0.37km): F St/ 3rd St/ K St / 7th St / Mt Vernon Sq / Mass Ave / 17th / Rhode Island Ave / M St / 23rd St / K St / Water St / CCT / C&O / Chain Br. M St has a protected bikeway. In some ways it's nice, but it has quirky interactions with traffic that depend on drivers being alert and polite. I didn't make it home before dark, but I have good lights. And it's a holiday (and pandemic), so there wasn't the normal rush-hour traffic.https://www.secretservice.gov/sites/default/files/reports/2021-01/2021InaugurationPublic%20AccessMap.pdf
Closures related to the 59th Inauguration, effective January 17, 2021
Mayor Muriel Bowser’s Situational Update -January 15, 2021
The National Park Service, at the request of and in cooperation with the United States Secret Service, will implement a temporary public closure of the National Mall beginning at 11 a.m. on Friday, January 15 and extending through at least Thursday, January 21.
Metro announced service adjustments for Metrorail and Metrobus that will be in effect beginning Friday, January 15 through the end of service on Thursday, January 21.
13 Metro stations inside the security perimeter will close, with 11 stations closing on Friday and two additional stations on Saturday
STATIONS CLOSED:
Red Line: Farragut North, Judiciary Square, Union Station
Yellow Line / Green Line: Archives
Blue Line: Arlington Cemetery
Blue Line / Orange Line / Silver Line: Farragut West, McPherson Square, Federal Center SW, Capitol South, Smithsonian, Federal Triangle
Trains will pass through the closed stations without stopping.
Beginning Saturday, January 16, through Thursday, January 21 Metro Center and Gallery Place stations will close
26 bus routes will be detoured around the expanded security perimeter beginning on Friday through Thursday
Besides the major inconvenience of the closed stations, without Metro Center and Gallery Place it will be much harder to transfer between the Red Line and the rest of the system.
Bikeshare is affected too:Capital Bikeshare around the National Mall, Capitol Hill & Union Station will be unavailable until further notice.
CaBi (Wiki) is a docked-bike system. Dockless-share bikes are probably harder to restrict.Any cars that are still in parking garages in the restricted area cannot be moved until after the inauguration.
The restrictions apply to residential and commercial buildings. Business deliveries must receive special screening at an off-site facility.
If I were working at the office, and not biking to get there, I would want to get off the Metro at Union Station - which is closed. The nearest open station appears to be NY Ave/Fla Av/Galudet Univ, about 6 blocks away (and paying more to ride farther). But work has told everyone not to come in Tue/Wed (and today was a holiday).
People's homes are in these security zones. Those folks are getting a massive hassle/inconvenience. Unless they're staying at home. (Hmmm, I'd been at home the past month.)
I haven't heard anything about what's happening with the homeless people in the security zones.
Tuesday 08:34
Many bridges into DC are closed today. Chain Bridge and Key Bridge are still open, and if biking, coming in on the outbound-side sidewalk of the Roosevelt Bridge is probably possible. (I don't think there's a sane way to get to the Virginia end of the inbound-side sidewalk.) Bridges across the Anacostia River are similarly restricted.
Tuesday 22:50The Maryland Transit Administration said all rail service on MARC’s Penn, Camden and Brunswick likes will be suspended through Wednesday. On Thursday, service will resume.
[This entry was originally posted as https://syntonic-comma.dreamwidth.org/1199996.html on Dreamwidth (where there are
comments).]
I biked into DC this afternoon. I had not been on the bike since the end of November.
I rode north to Chain Bridge and the C&O Canal towpath, my preferred commute route to the office. I stopped to help a woman with a flat rear tire. She'd liberated a years-unused bike (a nice Gary Fisher mountain bike) from a friend's shed. The front tire was flat, and a bike shop took care of that for her. She asked them about the rear, and they advised her not to worry about it. I think the shop was right. It wasn't age or dry rot; something poked through this (tire and) tube.
She didn't know how to patch a tire. She didn't have a patch kit, tools, or a pump. But she was ready to learn. She now knows there's 2 common valve types. She knows she needs to carry patches and tire levers. And a few paper towels are good to have. I think she will be able to do it on her own next time. (And after a little practice, she will be able to rescue someone else. ☺)
I'm always glad to see people return to cycling. Winter's a surprising time for it, though.
Sunset comes early (17:13, according to the OpenWeather Gnome shell extension), and I didn't want to be out late (more for the cold than the dark), so this cut into my riding time. Coming out of Georgetown on K St, the road was blocked at Washington Circle. I rode NE on New Hampshire Ave, and then SE on Massachusetts Ave. I caught a gap in the traffic, so I rode through the tunnel under Thomas Cir. At Mt Vernon Sq, 9th St was blocked going south. I came away from the square going NE on New York Ave, turned south on 6th St, and east on K St. K goes over I-395 and under the railroad tracks, and gets me east of Union Station. A few neighborhood streets (4th, G, 2nd) got me to my office on the east side of Union Station. This was 10.72mi (17.252km), less than a mile (1.6km) added to my normal commute route. (You're not getting near the White House - where some total stranger with a good camera took my userpic - for now.)
Some of the agency's ground-level windows are covered with plywood again(? or still?), but not as many as before the November elections. (This time it's mostly just the first of the three connected buildings.) F St at 2nd was blocked off with 3 guards in fatigues posted. (F St is one-way oncoming at that point, but I sometimes see drivers take it the wrong way. People wanting to get to Union Station (or to park at my workplace) would try it.) There were also guards on 2nd St outside the Judiciary Building, but they looked like just the regular security staff.
All the road closures I saw were staffed by the National Guards or Metro Police. Humvees or SUVs parked across the roads.
I took a more direct route home; shaved off 0.23mi (0.37km): F St/ 3rd St/ K St / 7th St / Mt Vernon Sq / Mass Ave / 17th / Rhode Island Ave / M St / 23rd St / K St / Water St / CCT / C&O / Chain Br. M St has a protected bikeway. In some ways it's nice, but it has quirky interactions with traffic that depend on drivers being alert and polite. I didn't make it home before dark, but I have good lights. And it's a holiday (and pandemic), so there wasn't the normal rush-hour traffic.https://www.secretservice.gov/sites/default/files/reports/2021-01/2021InaugurationPublic%20AccessMap.pdf
Closures related to the 59th Inauguration, effective January 17, 2021
Mayor Muriel Bowser’s Situational Update -January 15, 2021
The National Park Service, at the request of and in cooperation with the United States Secret Service, will implement a temporary public closure of the National Mall beginning at 11 a.m. on Friday, January 15 and extending through at least Thursday, January 21.
Metro announced service adjustments for Metrorail and Metrobus that will be in effect beginning Friday, January 15 through the end of service on Thursday, January 21.
13 Metro stations inside the security perimeter will close, with 11 stations closing on Friday and two additional stations on Saturday
STATIONS CLOSED:
Red Line: Farragut North, Judiciary Square, Union Station
Yellow Line / Green Line: Archives
Blue Line: Arlington Cemetery
Blue Line / Orange Line / Silver Line: Farragut West, McPherson Square, Federal Center SW, Capitol South, Smithsonian, Federal Triangle
Trains will pass through the closed stations without stopping.
Beginning Saturday, January 16, through Thursday, January 21 Metro Center and Gallery Place stations will close
26 bus routes will be detoured around the expanded security perimeter beginning on Friday through Thursday
Besides the major inconvenience of the closed stations, without Metro Center and Gallery Place it will be much harder to transfer between the Red Line and the rest of the system.
Bikeshare is affected too:Capital Bikeshare around the National Mall, Capitol Hill & Union Station will be unavailable until further notice.
CaBi (Wiki) is a docked-bike system. Dockless-share bikes are probably harder to restrict.Any cars that are still in parking garages in the restricted area cannot be moved until after the inauguration.
The restrictions apply to residential and commercial buildings. Business deliveries must receive special screening at an off-site facility.
If I were working at the office, and not biking to get there, I would want to get off the Metro at Union Station - which is closed. The nearest open station appears to be NY Ave/Fla Av/Galudet Univ, about 6 blocks away (and paying more to ride farther). But work has told everyone not to come in Tue/Wed (and today was a holiday).
People's homes are in these security zones. Those folks are getting a massive hassle/inconvenience. Unless they're staying at home. (Hmmm, I'd been at home the past month.)
I haven't heard anything about what's happening with the homeless people in the security zones.
Tuesday 08:34
Many bridges into DC are closed today. Chain Bridge and Key Bridge are still open, and if biking, coming in on the outbound-side sidewalk of the Roosevelt Bridge is probably possible. (I don't think there's a sane way to get to the Virginia end of the inbound-side sidewalk.) Bridges across the Anacostia River are similarly restricted.
Tuesday 22:50The Maryland Transit Administration said all rail service on MARC’s Penn, Camden and Brunswick likes will be suspended through Wednesday. On Thursday, service will resume.
[This entry was originally posted as https://syntonic-comma.dreamwidth.org/1199996.html on Dreamwidth (where there are
comments).]