County Executive Ike Leggett, Maryland Rep. Chris Van Hollen and many other really important people took time out of their busy schedules to smile for the cameras Tuesday.

The occasion? A groundbreaking for a parking garage.

A second garage at the Glenmont Station, which will be on the west side of Georgia Avenue, replaces one of the station’s Kiss & Ride lots and will create 1,200 more parking spaces. The garage will be completed next year.  

When finished, there will be 3,000 parking spaces at Glenmont. Most end-of-the-line Metro stations have at least that many parking spots.

County officials say the current parking garage is usually filled by 7:45 a.m. on most weekdays. With an average of almost 6,000 weekday boardings, the station has the fourth highest ridership of transit stations in the county.