WASHINGTON, D.C. — Drivers heading through Washington, D.C.’s Dupont Circle on Tuesday should plan around a cluster of closed streets as the 17th Street High Heel Race, now in its 39th year, takes over the neighborhood.
The Metropolitan Police Department says emergency no-parking signs go up from noon to 11 p.m. on 17th Street NW between New Hampshire Avenue and O and on nearby stretches of R, Corcoran, Q, Church and P streets. Cars left in those zones will be ticketed and towed.
From 2 p.m. to 11 p.m., those same blocks of 17th, R, Corcoran, Q and Church close to traffic, along with Riggs Place between 16th and 17th streets. P Street between 16th and 18th may shut off and on as crowds build. Police and the District Department of Transportation suggest alternate routes and extra care around heavy foot traffic.
The Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs says check-in opens at 5 p.m., performances run from 6 to 8:40 p.m., a costume contest follows at 8 p.m., and Mayor Muriel Bowser starts the race at 9 p.m.
The event dates to 1986, when drag queens, bartenders and regulars began racing in heels between bars on the strip. A new mural honoring that history is planned at JR’s Bar & Grill, and this year also marks 20 years since the city created its LGBTQ Affairs office.
Section: More Washington DC crime news
Filed under: Washington DC Traffic News
