Cheers Not Just for the Home Team but for Timely Rails, Clear Roads

Legions of Nationals fans use Metrorail to arrive at the ballpark for the home opener, having heeded repeated advice to use public transportation. One commuter who rode from the Pentagon called the experience "absolutely perfect." (By Nikki Kahn -- The Washington Post)
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"There it is," one man said.

"Awesome," said another.

Stadium-bound fans, some of whom left before 3 p.m. for the game at 8, reported little trouble on Metro. Trains were crowded toward game time but arrived at stations frequently, riders reported.

"Absolutely perfect," said Hans Landefeld, 37, of Arlington County. The Navy lieutenant commander rode in from the Pentagon with his son, Porter, 6. Their trip home was the same, he said. They left at the start of the ninth inning, when Porter fell asleep. "It was absolutely amazing," he said. "We had no problems: left the ballfield, went right to the Metro, got right on."

"Piece of cake," said Joe Mattos, 54, of Laurel said of his ride in. "The actual train trip was about 35 minutes."

Randall Moody, 64, a lobbyist from American University Park, rode in from Tenleytown. "It was fine," he said. "It was crowded, but not overwhelmingly." Moody and his wife, Jane, left early but mainly because of the chilly weather.

Metro, which carried 17,000 passengers to the new ballpark for Saturday's exhibition game, was expecting 24,000 people to ride its trains to last night's opener. The transit agency put 15 extra cars on the Green Line, four more on the Orange and Red lines and stayed open an hour past the normal Sunday closing time of midnight.

Spokeswoman Cathy Asato said Metro officials can immediately reassess transit plans for coming games, especially the first weekday game, April 7.

Motorists and pedestrians generally reported smooth trips last night, as well, because most heeded the Nationals' advice to arrive early. Gates opened at 3:30 p.m. There was some freeway trouble after the game, police reported, when an accident closed Interstate 295 for about an hour in both directions near Blue Plains sewage plant in Southwest.

At Parking Lot Y, south of M Street SE, which has about 200 spaces, the mayor of Fairfax City said his trip in was surprisingly quick.

"It was so easy, it was unbelievable. We didn't see a car," Robert F. Lederer, 52, said at 6:30 p.m. "We left Fairfax City 35 minutes ago."

Many fans said they arrived early because they knew President Bush would be there, which would mean waits to get through metal detectors.

Despite fears about heavy traffic, such thoroughfares as South Capitol Street and M Street SE were not heavily backed up at 6 p.m.

Karyn LeBlanc of the D.C. Department of Transportation said the city had made only minor tweaks to its traffic plan after Saturday's game.

Dave Lanham, 45, of Prince Frederick in Calvert County took advantage of a free shuttle bus from RFK Stadium, the team's home for the past three seasons.

Walking from the bus stop to the stadium, Lanham and his father, Dick, stopped to marvel at the transformation of the Southeast neighborhood, including a stadium parking lot instead of a liquor store at First and M streets SE.

"It's like a different city," said Dick Lanham, 67.