Rants and Ramblings: random commentary about culture, media, politics, technology and whatnot.

should i stay or should i go?

From the gloom and doom local transportation reports, it sounds like this isn’t the weekend to be straying too far from home.

As part of the Wilson Bridge project, the northbound “outer loop” section of the Beltway that runs through Alexandria is being shut down to one lane, with major detours in effect all over the place. The traffic outlook doesn’t sound pretty:

Reducing the Outer Loop to one lane just west of the Wilson Bridge is forecasted to result in weekend backups of 10 to 15 miles, with 60 to 90 minute delays. All travelers are urged to avoid the area, if at all possible.

The Post has a map illustrating all the closures and detours. (I worked on the interactive version now on the site.)

On top of the Beltway madness, Metro’s predicting 20-minute delays this weekend for track work on most of the subway lines.

It’s enough to make you want to stay close to home. (Though we’ve been pondering a road trip to Assateague this weekend.)

On a related note, a story in today’s Post underscores just how awful parking in D.C. is:

If finding a legal parking spot on the street in the District feels like an impossible task, consider this statistic: There are 175,000 more vehicles than on-street spaces in the city on a given day.

So it’s no wonder that city transportation officials say that during peak hours, 30 percent of city traffic consists of drivers circling the block hunting for a spot.

(“The D.C. Parking Search” - 07/15/05)

One piece of D.C. parking trivia in today’s story that I wasn’t aware of:

She also has proposed extending a moratorium on tickets for overnight parking in loading zones and building entrances, letting it run from 9 p.m. to 7:30 a.m. The current moratorium begins at 10 p.m.

I didn’t realize that I can park illegally after 10 p.m. and not worry about getting ticketed. (I wonder about getting towed. Probably not a problem, though, as long as it’s in a public area where people will be less likely to call and complain — say, in front of an office building — and not on private property.)

Then again, people here park illegally during rush hour and don’t get towed, so maybe it doesn’t make a difference.