District officials are warning Washington residents to prepare for massive crowds expected to hit the National Mall not only on the day the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial is officially unveiled, but also on the days leading up to it. More than 200,000 people are expected to attend when President Obama speaks at the memorial’s official dedication on Aug. 28, potentially causing massive lines at Metro stations and gridlock in and around the Mall, officials warned Tuesday.
Metro General Manager Richard Sarles went as far as to suggest that attendees coming from Virginia should get off the train at Arlington National Cemetery and walk over the Memorial Bridge.
“We’ve been given estimates of 200,000 to 300,000 people,” Sarles said Tuesday. “At the [Jon] Stewart [Rally to Restore Sanity] we went with expected estimates to provide service … this time we’re planning for a lot more than what’s been estimated.”
| Getting there |
| Metro is offering the following for those who plan to take their trains to the MLK memorial dedication on Aug. 28: |
| ?> Closest stations: Smithsonian, Foggy Bottom, Arlington Cemetery |
| > Encouraging people to use: McPherson Square, Farragut North or Farragut West, L’Enfant Plaza |
| > Restrictions: No bikes. Escalators will likely be turned off for safety reasons. |
| > Tips: Purchase tickets for full, roundtrip fare before the day of the event. And get there early; the trains will start running at 5 a.m. |
| — Kytja Weir |
It has been estimated that more than 250,000 people descended on the mall for Stewart’s rally in October. More than 825,000 trips were taken on Metro that day, breaking a one-day ridership record. Crowd estimates for the Stewart event were for about half that size. Metro had trouble handling the unexpected crowd as people packed into stations and onto trains.
Sarles said trains will start running at 5 a.m. on Aug. 28 with trains arriving every eight to 12 minutes. City officials said residents should expect road closures similar to Fourth of July events on the National Mall.
Large crowds are also expected five days before the memorial service and official unveiling when the memorial hosts what Mayor Vincent Gray has dubbed “D.C. Day.” When it was announced last week, Gray said the city planned to give out 100,000 tickets to D.C. residents so they can get a sneak peek at the memorial. But on Tuesday, Gray backed off that plan.
“We had an unbelievable response and it got the point where it appeared tickets are not the best idea,” Gray said. Instead, the memorial will be open to anyone — from anywhere — on Aug. 23 from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Gray said it might actually be illegal to only allow D.C. residents to visit the national Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial.
Meanwhile, Police Chief Cathy Lanier said the department is ready for the crowd and the event will be safe.
“We have no credible threats at this point,” Lanier said.
