Tidal Basin road closures lifted

The road closures that were put in place last month to deter crowding and allow for social distancing along the Tidal Basin in D.C. have been lifted.

With cherry blossom peak season over, the traffic control measures were gone as of Monday morning, National Park Service spokesman Mike Litterst said.

Access to trails, the Jefferson Memorial, the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial and the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial have been restored.

The Park Service will continue to monitor the areas and if crowd sizes burgeon, Litterst said the agency has the ability to temporarily close the areas again.

However, restrooms on the National Mall and at individual memorials are closed, as well as parking areas south of Independence Avenue, which include:

  • Parking Lots A, B and C on Ohio Drive SW
  • The Tidal Basin Parking Lot
  • Street parking on Ohio Drive in East Potomac Park

The following road closures and restrictions remain:

  • Ohio Drive SW through West Potomac Park (between 23rd Street SW and Inlet Bridge) is thru traffic only. Parking and stopping is not permitted.
  • Ohio Drive SW past East Potomac Golf Course to Hains Point is closed.

As part of COVID-19 measures, all athletic fields and volleyball courts under the jurisdiction of the National Mall and Memorial Parks are closed until further notice. And all permits and reservations through May 15 have been canceled.

Lastly, concession stands at the National Mall are also closed until further notice, including bus sightseeing tours, the East Potomac Tennis Center, food and beverage stands, souvenir stores and Tidal Basin pedal boats.


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Abigail Constantino

Abigail Constantino started her journalism career writing for a local newspaper in Fairfax County, Virginia. She is a graduate of American University and The George Washington University.

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