The 44th President's Inauguration

A co-worker mentioned today that he was thinking of taking his sons into Washington DC to see the Presidential Inauguration on January 20th. As much as I'd like to witness such an historic event, if the estimates of up to 4 million attendees are in the right ballpark (even though there are only 240,000 formal tickets), it will be absolutely crazy downtown.

For perspective, consider these numbers:

• The resident population of DC is about 570,000.
• On a normal workday, commuters from the suburbs bring this number up to about 1 million people.
• Tourists probably add another 200,000 to 400,000 a day depending on the season.
• DC's Metro system, usually the best way to get around, only handles about 700,000 people on a normal workday.
• Washington DC and the closest counties in MD and VA have about 5 million people.

In short, the public transportation system, streets, restaurants, toilets, and all other essential services in DC are going to be overwhelmed on Inauguration Day as the normal population quadruples, even if most federal workers have the day off.

Other Considerations

January is often bitterly cold as well, if not snowbound, and they'll be closing off major sections of the city to traffic, making a normally convoluted street grid highly unpredictable.

Speaking from experience, I've been on the National Mall for the Fourth of July with an estimated crowd of 1 million, and it severely strained the capacity of the system. What's especially bad is when everyone tries to leave at the same time after the event is over.

At least the Monday preceding Inauguration Day is also a federal holiday (Martin Luther King's Birthday) which should ease congestion a little bit.

If You Decide To Go

With all of that said, there's still a part of me that would love to go, so I can understand the excitement. And nobody will really know how many attend until the day of the event so it could be a lot less.

For those who plan to make the trip, I'd highly advise that you read the Washington Post's Inauguration Watch coverage (the FAQs provide a good round-up of important information) or DC's excellent tourism information site. 

Remember that because of heightened security they'll probably not allow a lot of equipment into the Mall area.

Be forewarned though that all of the usual methods of navigating around town will likely be greatly altered by the crush of people and the new traffic patterns, so some of the information may not apply (and that includes the bathroom guide; Porta-Potties may be your friend here).

Update 1/02/09: The latest estimates call for closer to half the original numbers, but planners are preparing for the worst case eventuality. Greenbelt's Metro Station will be closed to cars so that buses can park there, and some highways will also be closed and used for charter bus parking.