Good luck getting around D.C. on Inauguration Day-"Pack Your Patience"

[babylonsister]

Good luck getting around D.C. on Inauguration Day

By NAFEESA SYEED
Associated Press Writer


WASHINGTON (AP) -- On a typical weekday, close to 2 million people commute to the nation's capital, snarling roads and packing subway trains and buses during peak hours.

Imagine doubling or tripling that for Barack Obama's inauguration Jan. 20.

"I don't want in any way to discourage anyone," said the District of Columbia's city administrator, Dan Tangherlini. "I just don't want them to come and be completely shocked by what they find."

It won't be pleasant, Tangherlini and other officials say.

The Washington area's transit system is telling passengers to expect extraordinarily long lines for trains and buses. Airports will be bustling with extra flights. Traffic could be at a standstill as motorists cope with street and bridge closings. Those who do manage to arrive in Washington will find limited parking.

"Pack your patience" is the advice from Corinne Geller, a Virginia State Police spokeswoman.

more...

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/I/INAUGURATION_TRANSPORTATION?SITE=CONGRA&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

[glowing]

1. They totally want to discourage people.. It would look bad for the piggies

for a ton of liberal, dems to pack into D.C. wearing rainbow pins and save Darfur t's. Oh, they are scared of us.

[babylonsister]

2. Or...it's going to be really, really crowded and they want people

to be aware of that.

[glowing]

4. everyone knows its going to be extremely crowded.. most have been

to an Obama cocert and have waited multiple hours for an event to even begin.. hours in long lines. When 20,000 - 100,000 people show up to a local event in a smaller area, we were used to waiting 5 or 6hrs.. D.C. is going to be the ultimate wait, but one many wouldn't miss if for the world.

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

20. It takes metro an average of 4 hours to clear out after a sold out Washington Nationals game.

That's 50,000 people, max.


This is projected to be anywhere from 2-4 million people. Do the math.

[Shakespeare]

21. Comparing a crowded concert to what DC is like on a huge event day is....

....not just comparing apples and oranges, it's comparing apples and unicycles.

I used to live in DC (oh, to still be 4 blocks from the Capitol....), and believe me--people still won't have a good grasp of what they're facing until they're smack-dab in the middle of it. Folks from out of town have NO IDEA what they're in for. Hopefully, the historic nature of the event will be worth it for all of them (it would be for me).

[ecstatic]

3. I hate to admit that the constant doom reports have discouraged me

:( If I had only received tickets I would definitely be there.

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

19. Dude, they want to discourage people because it's going to be a nightmare.

Political affiliation has nothing to do with the fact that this will be several times larger than any function DC has ever hosted, and that it's barely equipped to adequately handle a normal, everyday rush hour.

[Mike Daniels]

23. All it'll take is for one Metro train to go out of service in the A.M and it'll be a nightmare

Never mind that you're going to have idiots who decided to drink all night stuck in those crowds.

It'll only take one misplaced accidental elbow to the back, head, ribs, etc... for someone who's not in full control to lose it completely and then you'll have a real disaster on hand.

[Mike Daniels]

22. An inaugural committee and a Democratic majority city want to discourage turnout for politics?

Right.

Or, it could be just a heads up that people who attend the inauguration are going to be stuck in a clusterfuck of people on the roads, on the Mall and in the metro system.

To be forewarned is to be forearmed. People who know what they are about to walk into have more time to plan and schedule how they are going to get about.

[Happyhippychick]

5. I'm more concerned about the lack of bathrooms then anything else.

They've only brought in 600 portable potties.

Depends anyone?

[Captain Hilts]

7. I'll stop drinking caffeine the week prior. nt

[Dangerously Amused]

8. omg seriously?

[babylonsister]

10. For you-"Where To Pee In DC"...

http://www.whereinwashingtondc.com/

Are you coming to Washington DC for the Inauguration?? Consider this:

With official estimates of just one bathroom for every 6,849 people attending the inauguration, restrooms will be in massively short supply.

We've researched every square block surrounding the Mall and have compiled our new unofficial directory "Where to Pee in DC!"

This guide includes the well known sites that official guides publicize, but it also includes detailed information for lots of other (decent!) options off the beaten path that aren't listed anywhere else.

Check out Local and National Press on the Issue

1 Toilet for Every 6,849 People: http://www.wtop.com/?nid=25&sid=1544907

DC Braces for Record Crowds http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=97822117

Americans Want Restrooms http://www3.courierpress.com/news/2006/nov/26/national-mall/?printer=1/

When you're celebrating on the National Mall with 4 million of your closest friends, you'll be glad you have this guide!

[Captain Hilts]

6. I'm going to put on my running gear and hoof it from Chevy Chase. nt

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

9. My family says they're coming up from Atlanta, but I have feeling that they are going to change

their minds at the last minute. ;)

[ncrainbowgrrl]

11. I have to be in DC for a meeting on the 16th.

This is going to be VERY interesting. Glad I'm neurotic and booked hotels VERY early- and I'm driving my own car.

[stuntcat]

12. Here's hopin'

A hope for relative ease that day :hope:

We have a man coming from Iowa and two women coming from Georgia to stay with us! We're buying our Metro cards in advance but other than that I'm not sure what we can do but give ourselves LOTS of time getting there.
If it's looking too crowded I guess we'll have to go the night before? I don't know. I hope we'll have time to sleep a little.. at home not on the mall. What if people are camping out there 2 days ahead of time?? Well I bet the cops wouldn't let them.

[Cha]

13. I'm going to have such an awesome

time watching them all on c-span and logging on to DU. I envy those who will be there and wish I could be, too, but it isn't logistically possible.

[janx]

17. It isn't possible for me either, Zidzi.

And as a matter of fact, I'll have a killer long work day on the 20th. I guess I'll have to rely on media repeats after I get home.

[Cha]

24. C-span might

do a replay at some more convenient time for you:fistbump: And, of course, DU will have a play by play:)

[kwassa]

14. I could get there on the Metro from home, and I am not going.

The problem is getting home. The 4th of July Fireworks are terrible, with only 500,000 people involved.

If you are staying in DC, and are within a couple of miles of the mall, which makes walking home possible, then it is probably O.K., though you may not see much but the Jumbotron, and the backs of a lotta people's heads.

Best bet for bathrooms are the museums lining both sides of the mall.

[Clio the Leo]

15. Every night I pray for everyone who will be in DC on the 20th....

... I am NOT kidding.

I also pray for 50 degree weather. :)

In all this talk about the plans for the big day, NO ONE mentions how Reagan's second inauguration had to be held inside of the Capitol because there was a blizzard. Can you imagine? All of this time, money and effort and it gets snowed out?

[cherokeeprogressive]

16. Why is no one concerned for the PEOPLE who LIVE in DC, and what it's going to cost THEM?

The inauguration should be paid for by the incoming PE in my opinion. EVERY incoming PE. It should have ALWAYS been that way. If you WANT four million people there, PAY FOR IT YOURSELF rather than ask a poverty stricken city that gets taxed without representation to do it for you.

In all of this hullabaloo I've not seen a SINGLE PERSON concerned for what it's going to cost the people of D.C. It's just "Let's party! We won! WE made history!" One porta-potty for each 6,000+ people? I guess that means a few hundred thousand or so will be pissing and maybe even shitting on the land that some of our fellow citizens live on.

Yeah, but so be it. It's OUR celebration! Why be concerned by people who live in a place where civil services are stretched to the limit? It's OBAMA's party!

Makes me sick.

Not a troll, have never voted for a Republican, am a Veteran, think Obama's an excellent choice for President, and don't mind paying my fair share of taxes. Just thought I'd put that out there for those of you who will defend your right to party at an inauguration at someone else's expense by calling me a freeping troll.

I wouldn't want to be in DC on 1/21 for all the money in Fort Knox. Gonna be a messy, trashy, pissy, probably shitty place. And the good folks who live within site of the White House but have never even THOUGHT about stepping foot in the Hay Adams will be left to pick it up.

[lady raven]

18. I guess lots of us never even thought about it

A lot of people think of events like this in terms of the joy of the event itself and what the added commercial revenue might bring TO the city and we don't even think about the costs. I feel for you, and my thoughts will be with the people of DC on Inauguration Day, in hopes that the hassle and costs to you are minimal.

[Balderdash]

25. They are just being honest.

No one is trying to discourage anyone. It will be hell getting around, this is the biggest event DC has ever put on. I live in Takoma Park, Md, just off the Red Line and I'm staying home, one less person gumming up the works. If you're going you need to know what to expect and getting that many people into a city, any city, is unprecedented. So like the article says, "pack your patience."