Use Metro, use Metro and use Metro

In preparation for the Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial dedication Sunday, visitors will have to change their route if they were considering driving to the site.
Beginning at midnight and lasting through Sunday evening, Independence Avenue will be closed in both directions for the dedication ceremony. The memorial is located at 1964 Independence Ave. between the Jefferson and Lincoln memorials. Vehicles will not be able to park on several of the surrounding streets, according to National Park Service spokesman Bill Line, who said the area will be scattered with security.
“The event on Sunday is the highest levels of alert of American government. The Secret Service will be involved; the National Park Service will be involved. It will be a lockdown situation,” he said.
President Obama will deliver remarks at the dedication, and celebrities including Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder, George Lucas and Jamie Foxx will also attend. In addition, members of the King family will be present.
The dedication ceremony will begin at 11 a.m., but Line said the area will open up at 6 a.m., and all visitors need to be seated by 10 a.m. Line said there are a limited number of seats and there will be sections for overflow crowds who do not have tickets.
Line said he highly recommends using the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority system for transportation.
“The best transportation alternatives and ideas are to use Metro, use Metro and use Metro. There is no parking,” he said.
Metro is extending rail hours and suggesting alternate routes for when visitors arrive. All stations will open two hours early Sunday, opening at 5 a.m. instead of 7 a.m., according to Metro spokesman Dan Stessel. In addition, Metro plans to run frequent service on all five rail lines, meaning trains will make stops every four minutes on select stations on the red and orange lines and stops every eight to 12 minutes at other stations.
“We’re certainly planning for large crowds. We are ramping up service for the major event,” Stessel said.
Stessel said Metro recommends using the Arlington Cemetery station over Foggy Bottom and the L'Enfant Plaza station instead of the Smithsonian stop, due to its traditionally congested nature.The Arlington Cemetery station is approximately 1.8 miles from the dedication site compared with Foggy Bottom, which is 1.5 miles from the site.
The L’Enfant Plaza station is approximately 0.8 miles from the site compared to the Smithsonian station, which is 0.3 miles from the site. Metro is replacing a major escalator at the Foggy Bottom station, which would also create delays if the station received a high volume of commuters.
In addition to Independence Avenue, surrounding roadways such as 23rd Street, Inlet Bridge and Lincoln Memorial Circle will be closed to all vehicles, bicycles and pedestrians Sunday.
The National Memorial Project Foundation has set up a free shuttle system for visitors looking for an alternative means of transportation, according to Line.
Visitors are able to park their cars or busses at RFK Stadium on Sunday and be shuttled to the MLK Memorial site for free. The shuttle busses will be the only transportation vehicles allowed near the site.
Monday was the memorial’s soft opening, where visitors could see the site without all of the activities. Roads were open and Parking guidance system was allowed throughout the week. Line said Friday and Saturday the memorial location will close for preparation and set up for the ceremony.
“The National Park Service is extraordinarily happy and proud and at the same time humbled to become the caretakers of this memorial,” he said. “It’s taking its rightful place on the National Mall.”