The National Park Service will limit access to the Tidal Basin in Washington, D.C., during the peak cherry blossoms bloom as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
Officials said they would limit “all vehicular and pedestrian access” in the area in a Tuesday press release. The Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial, the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial, and the Thomas Jefferson Memorial will be closed between approximately March 26 and April 12.
Limited pedestrian traffic will be allowed, National Park Service spokesman Mike Litterst said, according to the Washington Post, as long as crowds do not grow past an acceptable level. The Washington Examiner contacted Litterst and the National Park Service for clarification on what would be considered an acceptable level but did not immediately receive a response.
“We tried last year to discourage people from coming down, and we still had thousands of people coming to a really small area. Around the trees at the Tidal Basin is just very confined,” said Jeffrey Reinbold, the National Park Service’s superintendent for the National Mall. “The minute someone pauses to take photos, you get a bottleneck, and crowds start to form. This is really a confined space. Last year showed us that.”
Tourists and residents are encouraged to view the blossoms elsewhere in the city or view them virtually, using the Tidal Basin’s 24/7 BloomCam.
So far, Washington, D.C., has reported over 43,000 cases of the coronavirus and 1,050 deaths related to it, according to data collected by the New York Times. The city has seen a steady decrease in daily cases since mid-January.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention still recommends that people avoid large gatherings but has noted that outdoor events are safer than those held indoors.
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“There are many places in D.C. where you can still go and enjoy the cherry blossoms, but you can also spread out,” Deputy Mayor John Falcicchio said. “There’s more room for people to safely gather and see the trees while also exploring what the district has to offer.”
