Metro Prepares for Cherry Blossom Onslaught

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Photo of last year's cherry blossoms by Marvin Joseph/The Washington Post

"METRO READY for Cherry Blossom Festival," reads the headline of the press release in my inbox.

But can anyone truly be prepared for an event that brings thousands upon thousands of teeming masses hurtling toward an area as confined as the Tidal Basin? (An event that starts this weekend, by the way.) I think not.

But here are some details about the transit impact of this year's blossom peepin' season.

» More rail cars: The transit agency's brought in another 10 of 'em to rotate into its existing lineup.

» Longer trains: Metro plans to use six-car trains during off-peak hours on weekdays to accommodate the larger crowds expected for the festival. The transit agency says it'll be ready to upgrade those to eight-car trains on the weekends if the tourist crush gets too severe.

» Early opening April 6: Plan to run in the Cherry Blossom 10-mile? Metro will be open at 5 a.m. that morning, two hours earlier than usual.

» Parking: Watch out for even bigger crowds than usual on Metro if visitors hear that the parking lot near the Tidal Basin — meaning the 180-spaces that spawn massive annual traffic backups — will be closed. (Traffic will be redirected to an 800-space lot at Hains Point that will be served by a special "Blossom Shuttle," The Post's Petula Dvorak reported yesterday.)

— GB

» MORE ON THIS TOPIC: Tips on how to see the blossoms without losing your mind.

» "Metro Ready for Cherry Blossom Festival" [WMATA]
» "New Ideas for Blossoms' Bottleneck" [WaPo]