Branch Ave. Metro Parking

[softtouch]

Granddaughter is having her H.S. graduation ceremony at Constitution Hall the first week in June. It will be 10am on a Friday.

Do you have to be an early bird to park at the Branch Ave. Station?
My downtown knowledge is dated. Years ago you could park on the Ellipse.
Still doable?

[beamher]

Originally Posted by softtouch

Granddaughter is having her H.S. graduation ceremony at Constitution Hall the first week in June. It will be 10am on a Friday.

Do you have to be an early bird to park at the Branch Ave. Station?
My downtown knowledge is dated. Years ago you could park on the Ellipse.
Still doable?

you might be chancing it. why not drive and park on the streets; plenty street parking will become available at 9:30 (but make sure you read the signs)

[peanutman]

Originally Posted by softtouch

Granddaughter is having her H.S. graduation ceremony at Constitution Hall the first week in June. It will be 10am on a Friday.

Do you have to be an early bird to park at the Branch Ave. Station?
My downtown knowledge is dated. Years ago you could park on the Ellipse.
Still doable?

YESSSSSS! I'm not sure about the one hour meters but the longer parking lots will be full by 730, if not earlier. Also, you need to be sure to get a Smartrip card so you can pay for parking.

[mdsmile44]

Branch Ave provides parking spaces that are available after 10:00am. The place is under surveillance and if you park there prior to 10:00 the vehicle will be ticketed. You may find parking on a Friday…but the spaces fill up quickly. You have to also use a prepaid metro card to exit the parking lot. Metro fare cards are available inside the station

[waldorfman]

Originally Posted by softtouch

Granddaughter is having her H.S. graduation ceremony at Constitution Hall the first week in June. It will be 10am on a Friday.

Do you have to be an early bird to park at the Branch Ave. Station?
My downtown knowledge is dated. Years ago you could park on the Ellipse.
Still doable?

The FREE parking lot spaces will be full by 8 am - be sure of it, especially on a Friday because of tourists. I parked there for work for about 6 months and I had to end up parking in the "Reserved" spots many-a-times and ended up paying Price George's County about $175 over all ($25 a ticket). I finally got frustrated and got a monthly pass, which was just about as bad.

Get to the station between 7 and 7:30 am you'll be good.

And yes, don't forget about the SmartTrip card. Get one before getting on the train.

[Sweet 16]

Originally Posted by mdsmile44

You have to also use a prepaid metro card to exit the parking lot. Metro fare cards are available inside the station

SmarTrip cards cost a minimum of $10, are re-fillable and can be used for both Metro fares and parking. They are sold from a separate machine than the traditional farecard machines inside the station. The lots do not take cash or credit cards anymore so you must have a SmarTrip card to exit the lot!

[hammishsqueak]

Originally Posted by Sweet 16

SmarTrip cards cost a minimum of $10, are re-fillable and can be used for both Metro fares and parking. They are sold from a separate machine than the traditional farecard machines inside the station. The lots do not take cash or credit cards anymore so you must have a SmarTrip card to exit the lot!

And don't forget that half of your $10 goes towards the $5 card fee. The other $5 goes towards your fair and you can always add more on (but as Sweet said, you need one to exit the lot! I was .10 short of the parking fee and had to turn around and go back inside to add on money to leave).

[softtouch]

Originally Posted by beamher

you might be chancing it. why not drive and park on the streets; plenty street parking will become available at 9:30 (but make sure you read the signs)

Is 9:30 the end of rush hour parking restrictions?
It is a long hike for an old coot (75) from Federal Triangle or Farragut stations to Constitution Hall. Since the Hall is across 17th St. from the Ellipse,
that's why I asked about parking there.

Thanks to all who responded.

[beamher]

Originally Posted by softtouch

Is 9:30 the end of rush hour parking restrictions?
It is a long hike for an old coot (75) from Federal Triangle or Farragut stations to Constitution Hall. Since the Hall is across 17th St. from the Ellipse,
that's why I asked about parking there.

Thanks to all who responded.

pretty much; normally one side is available to park anytime and the other is not available until 9:30 to keep the flow of traffic moving would be my guess. that's why it is very important to read the signs and make sure you park legally; but at 9:30am everything is pretty much fair game.
can't recall if there are any parking garages close by to avoid all that-but they generally average about $15 to be on the safe side. not sure how long the graduation will be because most offer hourly rates and early bird pricing.

[beamher]

Originally Posted by softtouch

Is 9:30 the end of rush hour parking restrictions?
It is a long hike for an old coot (75) from Federal Triangle or Farragut stations to Constitution Hall. Since the Hall is across 17th St. from the Ellipse,
that's why I asked about parking there.

Thanks to all who responded.

and have loose change if you plan on parking on the meter