Annual Tennis Event Will Congest 16th Street NW

The week-long Legg Mason Tennis Classic starts today at the Carter Barron Center on 16th Street NW. The annual event creates traffic and parking issues in the upper Northwest Washington neighborhoods near Rock Creek Park.

Evening commuters might want to consider 14th Street, Georgia Avenue or Connecticut Avenue as alternatives to 16th Street. For those going to the stadium, consider biking, walking or Metrobus. The bus options on 16th Street are the S2, S4 and S9. (The latter route is the new limited stop service that runs at rush hours.) They all stop at 16th and Kennedy streets NW near the stadium. Bus commuters, who may be using the S buses as an alternative to the slow-running Red Line, should keep in mind that the buses themselves may be slow in the evening along upper 16th Street.

There is event parking at Carter Barron, but be wary of attempting to park in the nearby neighborhoods. There are many parking restrictions, and tow trucks will be hauling cars to Roosevelt High School's parking lot on Iowa Avenue if they don't have residential parking stickers or are found parked in the "Emergency No Parking" areas on the local streets.

National Park Service staff, D.C. police and District Department of Transportation traffic control officers will be directing traffic, and you'll see traffic and parking information on variable message boards in the area.

The scedule: Midday games are played today, Sunday, Friday and next Saturday and Sunday. Games also start at 4 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and at 7 p.m. Friday and next Saturday. There's a full schedule here.

Here's a map of the area.

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