WASHINGTON — A festive celebration climaxed as the lights on the Christmas Tree at National Harbor were illuminated late Sunday, but many also experienced the glare of brake lights from the Beltway to the parking garages — which was far less joyful.
A miles-long string of red lights and bumper-to-bumper traffic enveloped the south side of the Capital Beltway Sunday afternoon as thousands of families tried to cram into the parking garages at National Harbor in the hours before, during and after the tree lighting ceremony. The exodus was even more painful, according to many attendees who were stuck inside the parking garages for hours.
Around 5:30 p.m., officials in the National Harbor Command Center declared that the venue was at capacity, but traffic delays persisted on the Beltway and Interstate 295 for hours thereafter.
Posts to the National Harbor social media pages read: “I was stuck on [the Wilson] Bridge for 40 min and had to turn around” and “It is packed. Cars everywhere. We had to turn around.” Other comments read: “Stuck for an hour and a half, this was my last year going, the traffic is out of control now,” and “We were stuck in Fleet garage for almost 2 hours. It was pure madness trying to get out!”
Nadya Scott said the delays leading toward the ceremony were nothing compared to the jam leading out of the garages.
“We didn’t move from our spot for a minimum of 30 minutes. We moved six inches. For the next hour we didn’t move. My mom and I got out of the car and peered over the garage edge to see police directing traffic in but not letting anyone out.”
Scott said she was struck in the garage amid a flurry of car horns and children moaning from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m.
Tyler Giles said he spent about an hour and a half waiting to leave his garage after the ceremony and described the scene as a “chorus of horns.”
“Overall, it appeared there was very little traffic direction … one staff member was directing, but in a way that caused a complete jam on the road outside. Inside the garage, we saw no staff and our car did not actually see any movement.” Giles noted that parking fees had been waived by the time he emerged from the garage sometime after 8 p.m.
“It was just frustrating that 10 years of this event and they still can’t get traffic organized. 1.5 hours in a parking garage is a bit much,” Giles said.
Brian Waters, vice president of marketing at National Harbor, said that the development has made strides in getting traffic moving in recent years, but work still needs to be done.
“I completely understand it is frustrating if you’re in a garage for a long period of time, even if it’s a popular event. I will say we have been making improvements which have paid off … and we’re not resting on our laurels by any means. We are continuously improving. We are going through our recap meetings right now to see what other improvements we can make.”
Waters said the National Harbor Command Center, equipped with modernized technology, along with new signage and assistance from local law enforcement, has helped move more people into and out of the parking areas.
“In the past we’ve been able to handle about 1,000 vehicles per hour. Now we can handle up to 2,000, even up to 2,500 vehicles per hour. That certainly improved the experience from where we were last year,” Waters said.
In 2015, extreme volume delays formed on the Beltway between Springfield, Virginia, and Camp Springs, Maryland. The traffic jam that Saturday evening on Interstate 95 extended from Old Keene Mill Road to National Harbor, a queue of over nine miles caused by clogged off ramps east of the Woodrow Wilson Bridge. A similar bottleneck formed last year.
While National Harbor staff handles traffic direction near and within the garages, Prince George’s County police bridges the gap between the driveways and highways. National Harbor Boulevard, a four- to six-lane road, is the only way in and out.
“Last night at the tree lighting ceremony we had 65 additional officers just in the area of the National Harbor that were directing traffic during both the inbound and outbound portions of the ceremony. We have specific unit that handles these sort of events,” said Cpl. Tyler Hunter, a spokesman for the Prince George’s County police.
Hunter said that a confluence of drivers, including shoppers heading to the nearby Tanger Outlet Mall and Redskins fans leaving FedEx Field, likely worsened traffic delays.
“There was a lot going on in that area last night, which ultimately led to the traffic conditions that we saw. Traffic is unfortunately to be expected, but when we do have major delays it is something that we certainly after-the-fact look at, and try to determine if there is a better way that we can manage the traffic coming to and from the event,” Hunter said.
