Scouting the Smith Center Vicinity for Parking

By JC Leahy

Smith Center for Healing and the Arts Cancer Care Navigation Training Is This Week!!

The Smith Center for Healing and the Arts is holding an educational seminar that lasts from this Wednesday through Sunday: September 19 through 23.  The topic is cancer patient care navigation.  I'm planning to attend.  I went to their site today to scope out the parking situation.  At first inspection, parking looks abysmal, but (as with most things in Life) having information in advance should make all the difference.

The Smith Center is located at 1623 U Street, NW, Washington, DC  20009.  This is essentially the southeastern corner of 17th and U Streets. Across the street, the block is occupied by Fire Department and Police facilities.  To the the west on U Street, it is residential.  To the east are small shops and eateries.  There is street parking only.  It costs $2.00 per hour if you can find a metered spot on a weekday, which I doubt. 

It looks like motorcycles are customarily parked on the sidewalks in this neighborhood, if you can find a spot that doesn't block pedestrian flow.  I happen to have a motorcycle, which I hesitate to ride in DC city traffic.  I used Garmin Mapsource to plot a motorcycle route from my home in Colesville, Maryland to the Smith Center. As I approached the Smith Center, I would be coming south on 16th Street.  If I broke left on Florida Avenue, then left on 17th Street, I would come into the 17th and U intersection at the right angle to veer onto the wheelchair ramp of the southeast corner, onto the sidewalk and into a little alcove right at the door of the Smith Center.  That's one possibility.

Another possibility for me would be to park at the 17th Street Army and Navy Club.  That would give me valet service for my car at $16 per day.  I would have to walk 1.1 miles north the the Smith Center.  Mapquest.com says this would take 26 minutes.  That's another possibility. (I hate riding a motorcycle in the city.)

The next alternative is public parking.  These are the nearest public parking locations, in ascending order of distance:

1. Camden Roosevelt Parking Garage, 2101 16th Street, NW, Wash., DC  20009, tel 866-797-5410 0.20 mi. $15 per day. Garage locked at all times. To gain access, call 202-265-4612 and an attendant will let you in.
2. Colonial Parking #700, 1711 Fla. Ave., NW, Washington, DC  20009, tel 202-295-8100 0.28 mi. $13 per day. Monday through Thursday 6:30 am till midnight. Friday 6:30 am till 4 am. Saturday noon until 4 am.  Closed Sundays.
3. Star Parking, 1900 CT Avenue, NW, Washington, DC  20009, tel 202-387-0448 0.55 mi.
4. 14th Street LLC, 1736 14th Street, NW, Washington, DC  20009, tel 202-745-0185 0.57 mi.
5.  Las Parking Mid-Atlantic, Inc., 2001 S Street NW, Washington, DC 20009, tel 202-667-3030 0.63 mi
6. GPSI, 1914 14th Street, NW, Washington, DC  20009, tel 202-332-5406,  0.71 mi.

Another way to get to the Smith Center cancer care training would be by Metro.  In my case, I would probably park at the Red Line's Glenmont Station 5 miles from my home.  The nearest stations to 17th and U Streets NW are the U Street Station half a mile (5 blocks) to the east, or Dupont Circle 0.7 miles to the southwest of the Smith Center.  Metro has a pretty nice Metro Trip Planner for finding out how to get from point A to point B by Metro at any particular date at time.

Good luck!