White House farmers' market opens Thursday

Adam Tuss, wtop.com

WASHINGTON - The farmers' market is coming, and that means a downtown D.C. street will close at the height of the Thursday afternoon rush hour.

WTOP was first to report that the Office of First Lady Michelle Obama is supporting a plan to shut down Vermont Avenue, NW between H and I Streets for the market. Thursday, the market will open, closing Vermont Avenue between 1 p.m. and 8 p.m.

About 4,600 cars a day travel on that stretch of Vermont Avenue. By comparison, nearby H and I streets each carry about 20,000 cars a day.

But Gabe Kelin, the director of the D.C. Department of Transportation, tells WTOP he is fine with the closure.

"I just don't see a significant impact, particularly on a Thursday afternoon," says Klein. "People leave at all times of the day, so when you look at how dispersed the traffic will be time-wise, I think it is going to be fine."

DDOT says it will deploy additional traffic control officers in the area to keep things moving.

However, there are issues relating to public transportation.

Metro tells WTOP the L2 bus will be impacted and will have to loop around the block.

"Every 20 to 30 minutes is the time a bus should pass through there," says Metro spokesperson Lisa Farbstein.

In addition, the "Nextbus" service, which locates those buses in real time and tells customers when the next bus is coming, will not be accurate.

"The farmers market has been causing some angst," says Farbstein.

As for the actual farmer's market itself, if you work or live near the White House and are interested in locally grown foods, this is your type of event.

FreshFarm Markets is running the market, which will include fresh fruits and vegetables, locally raised meats, cheeses, and fresh baked breads.

While Vermont Avenue will be closed between 1 p.m. and 8 p.m., the actual market will operate between 3 p.m. and 7 p.m.

The market will run every Thursday until Oct. 29.

(Copyright 2009 by WTOP. All Rights Reserved.)