Looking Forward to, and Preparing for, Emancipation Day

Most of the District’s events in celebration of Emancipation Day — April 16, 1862, when 3,185 enslaved residents of the District of Columbia were freed, about eight months before the Emacipation Proclamation — will take place on Saturday.

Following the 1 p.m. parade (which follows the Cherry Blossom parade), there will be a concert on Freedom Plaza; a “truck touch,” when kids can touch parked trucks and snow plows; and fireworks.

But on Friday, some rush-hour lane operations will be impacted, according to the District Department of Transportation and the Department of Public Works.

Here’s what drivers need to know:

There will be no reversible lane operations on the following roadways:
• Connecticut Avenue NW between Legation Street and Woodley Road
• 16th Street NW between Arkansas Avenue and Irving Street.
Drivers should anticipate congestion on the inbound lanes during morning rush and the outbound lanes during the evening rush hours.

DDOT will run reversible lane operations on the following roadways:
• Canal Road between Chain Bridge and Foxhall Road NW
• Independence Avenue between 4th Street SW and 2nd Street SE
• Rock Creek Parkway (controlled by the National Park Service).
Parking regulations, including weekday rush-hour parking restrictions, expired meters, residential parking and street sweeping will be suspended for the holiday.

DPW will enforce parking restrictions Friday, April 15, along the streetcar line on H Street/Benning Road NE. “Blocked” Streetcar Parking Enforcement occurs every day, including weekends and holidays, along H Street and Benning Road NE, between 3rd Street and Oklahoma Avenue NE. On Sundays and holidays, enforcement occurs between 8 a.m. and 11 p.m. Enforcement on Mondays to Thursdays occurs 6 a.m. to midnight; and on Fridays and Saturdays, enforcement runs between 6 a.m. and 2 a.m. Normal enforcement citywide resumes Saturday, April 16.