Posted on 10/22/2014 9:10:21 AM PDT by Nachum
Washingtonians and visitors seeking to attend Veterans Day ceremonies or to pay their respects to the fallen at Arlington National Cemetery this year will need to allocate extra time in getting there.
That's because the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority has cancelled all Blue line rail service on the federal holiday, and it's the only line that services the Arlington National Cemetery Metro train station.
The public transportation authority isn't shutting down for mandated safety repairs, which have plagued the agency since a 2009 fatal accident. Rather, service is being cancelled for "a major concert."
The concert, billed as "The Concert for Valor," is being held on the National Mall and is being sponsored by HBO, Chase, and Starbucks. Its being called "a first-of-its-kind concert to honor the courage and sacrifice of America’s veterans" and will be broadcast to HBO's 32 million U.S. subscribers. A press release states that "HBO will offer its affiliates the opportunity to open the signal, allowing nonsubscribers to view the special."
(Excerpt) Read more at weeklystandard.com ...
Poor choice of headliners.
Eminem- isn’t he the guy who dressed like bin laden in one of his videos? i believed he peed on the Constitution in the same video (I could be wrong)....didn’t he also write a song where he talks about wanting to kill the mother of his child???
seems like a legitimate choice for left wingers...
They’re both lefties. This isn’t a concert to honor the fallen. It’s a concert to make money. Who cares about the families and friends of those who made the ultimate sacrifice?
Nice FU to the vets to shut down the cemetary and headline a scumbag who’s biggest hit is anti-american agitprop.
“Eminem- isn’t he the guy who dressed like bin laden in one of his videos?”
Before anyone blasts the METRO management folks on this....a comment or two about the local area and what typically happens. I lived in Arlington for three years and saw how METRO, crowds, and things work.
The nearest METRO station to the Lincoln Memorial....is the one straight across the river...Arlington Cemetery Station. It’s a very limited type station and on one platform....you might be able to handle around 1,500 people max. With pushing and shoving like I saw for the Tea Party Event, it’s just not a very safe platform for that many people to push into and get the heck out of the local area.
The next METRO station? Farragut West. It’s a fair-sized walk from the pool area in front of the Lincoln Memorial and would space folks out a bit before getting into the tunnel.
If you were wanting a decent walk with good weather, I’d take the river to cross, heading northwest and aim for the Roslyn Station. Would take you thirty to forty minutes to reach it but likely to be lesser crowds.
Beyond that, McPherson Square and METRO Square work as well.
The blunt truth is that the DC METRO system just isn’t built to handle 500,000 people rushing it over a 90-minute period. I’d personally aim to park my car somewhere in Arlington and just walk over the bridge and head there without the aide of METRO. And if you had any apprehension over safety....Arlington is an extremely safe area, compared to DC or Maryland.
The service pattern actually makes sense. People coming from blue line stations in Virginia can use the yellow line instead, which is quicker anyway. (For those unfamiliar with the Metro system, both lines originate in Virginia south of DC. The yellow line essentially runs directly north into town, while the blue line follows the Potomac and crosses into DC further upstream.) People headed to Arlington can take yellow line trains to Pentagon and transfer to the shuttle train. The quicker yellow line trips allow for more frequent service to and from the concert.
I don’t trust a “concert for valor”, being put on by lefties Bruce Springsteen, HBO, Chase, and Starbucks...to properly honor our fallen heroes.
It doesn’t pass the smell test. Especially when they callously overlook the fact that the Arlington cemetery metro stop will be closed (to those truly trying to pay Verteran’s Day respects).
Read the article. The cemetery is not shut down. Neither is the Arlington Cemetery metro station. The normal metro service to this station is suspended for one day, and alternate service (a shuttle from Reagan Airport to Arlington stopping at the intermediate stations) is in place. People can still go to the cemetery by metro, it’s just a different ride. For most people it’s just one extra transfer to get there.
Having lived in the area, you probably know better than I do, but I’ve visited often. When we go, we usually exit at Smithsonian, walk the Mall toward the Washington Monument, hit the WWII, Vietnam, and Korean Memorials and then the Lincoln. After Lincoln, we’ve always walked up through Foggy Bottom to the Foggy Bottom station to get back on Metro. When I’ve looked on Google maps and other sites, that’s always the one that shows up as closest to the Lincoln Memorial.
Thanks for the metro info, on your posts. I saw them, after my previous post.
I’m still not comfortable with lefties Springsteen, HBO, Chase and starbucks hosting a “Valor” concert, for our heroes.
scumsteen still writing songs about the working class as he stiffs his roadies.
Well then perhaps a different concert venue should be chosen.
The Smithsonian Station works too....although I’ve always noted that the crowds really drift to it as an event ends, and it’s hectic. My general advice, it’s better to walk an extra ten minutes to get beyond the heaviest and crowd-prone station. And if weather is bad...plan accordingly.
The L’Enfant Plaza is one that I would skip entirely....too many punks, pickpockets and assault possibilities (Green line runs through it).
Generally, if parking....I’d park as far west or far south as possible...using just the blue or yellow line, and try to avoid changing trains. Folks in Arlington get all peppy about parking, with tickets handed out easily, so don’t think just because a street is open....several spots are open on it....that’s all OK.
Finally, if you can get a decent hotel up in Rockville, Maryland, near the METRO station...that’s a clearcut path on the redline to METRO Center.
And if you suddenly realize you accidentally got on the Greenline and crossed the river into Anacostia...please be quick to get off the train, scramble over to the other ramp and take very next train heading north. Don’t loiter or stand there inviting trouble.
I wonder if they close/suspend train service to that station on July 4th every year.
Orange line also runs from Virginia.
The locals all get thrilled with the surroundings, landscape, and such. Frankly, I can’t think of too many US mass transit systems that can handle hefty crowds. Even the Tea Party crowd of roughly 100,000 to 150,000 (my humble crowd estimate) really challenged the system.
The only way that METRO does such a good job as it is....is that folks tend to leave early and there’s a staggered crowd situation Monday through Friday....from 0600 to 0900. If you want to see a mess....call a snow-blizzard deal at 1PM and watch as they max out the trains and the tunnels over the next 90 minutes.
you forgot screwing their women.
Wouldn’t go see either one of them if the tickets were FREE.
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