Woodbridge, Va. –– Today was the day tighter commuter parking restrictions went into effect at Potomac Mills mall.
Slugs headed to Washington were told they could still park in any of the mall’s now 250 spaces (down from 1,000 on Friday).
But Slugs headed to Rosslyn, Crystal City or the Pentagon would now have to park at the Dale City commuter lot off Gemini Way.
More to the Story: See our interactive map of commuter parking lots in the Potomac Communities.
By 7:47 a.m., only five Slugs headed to Arlington had been picked up at that Dale City lot, and six drivers headed to the Pentagon waited patiently as there were no Slugs for them to take.
“The lot is a little fuller this morning that it was last week. Normally, I can park near that light post over there but today had to park a bit further back, but there’s still plenty of room,” said Jim, a commuter who lives off Ridgefield Road in Dale City.
Jim used to use the Potomac Mills commuter lot up until last week when he heard about the impending parking changes.
The reduced commuter lot at Potomac Mills was full by 6 a.m., leaving many drivers stuck in lines waiting for Slugs and vice versa.
Two of the remaining parking spaces in the lot were filled with snow, and one female driver asked mall officials on hand if she could park her car in them without being towed.
The response: Park the best way you can.
Mall security then forced members of the press off the lot.
“A lot of people have Mondays and Fridays off, so the real test of this new system will come Tuesday and Wednesday when they’re back at work,” said Vashon Veal, who boarded a commuter bus at the stop nearby the mall. “What they don’t understand is that we work in D.C. to make the money to come and shop here. Now you can bet my money will be going to Tysons Corner.”
Mall officials announced the commuter parking changes last month, sending elected officials and Prince William County staff scrambling to find another place for commuters to park.
Late Sunday, a plan formulated by Slug-Lines.com webmaster and author David LeBlanc was released, informing Slugs to the Pentagon and spots in Arlington to begin parking at Dale City.
“It just made sense to have both lines that are going to Rosslyn, Crystal City and the Pentagon – all points in Virginia – to be moved and kept at the same lot,” said LeBlanc.
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