Dunn Loring Metro Station (purchase, to live, prices)

[Leerinsmom]

How crowded is the Dunn Loring Metro Station parking lot in the morning? Is hard to find a place to park?

[VRE332]

i used to live near that station about 3 years ago. There was no parking after 8, sometimes after 9 was full. Also they tend to close the lots after 9am. It's much easier to take the fairfax connector or metro bus to that station

[saganista]

It depends, but keep in mind that there is an 8-story commercial parking garage right across the street from the west entrance to Dunn Loring, so if you arrive and the Metro lot is full, there is a convenient alternative. You can also purchase from Metro a guaranteed parking permit. It's a bit costly at $55 per month (on top of the regular $4.50 daily charge), but you absolutely will be able to park up until 10:00 am if you have one of those. There is typically (and currently) a waiting list for a guaranteed permit, but it is certainly a long-term option for those who need absolute certainty. Meanwhile, gas prices and the increase to the current $4.50 per day charge have reduced overall parking demand. The lot fills up later than it used to. Demand is lower in the summer, higher on rainy days, and potentially much higher if there is some major tourist event going on downtown. For those days when you'd be going in late (doctor, dentist, parent-teacher meeting etc,), after 10:00, anyone can park in the spaces reserved for guaranteed permit holders. Also by early afternoon, the spaces of those who work part-time and those who have afternoon instead of morning appointments begin to open up as those folks leave. As a result, the potentially worrisome periods for getting a spot in the actual Metro lot are about 8:30 to 10:00, and 11:30 to 1:00. I have never known the commercial lot to be full.