FOCUS: THE INAUGURATION
Come early, come prepared
Washington, D. C., visitors who want to be part of the Jan. 20 ceremony that ushers in a new era should be prepared to deal with a sea of humanity
WASHINGTON — Barack Obama will become America’s 44th president Jan. 20, and countless Americans wouldn’t miss it for the world.
But they could miss it for the closed bridges, the overcrowded subway trains and the unprecedented security that will all be part of what may well be America’s largest public gathering ever.
Anywhere from 1.5 million to 4 million people are expected to jam the National Mall in hopes of witnessing history: the inauguration of the first black president of a nation that long enslaved its African-American residents.
At least five organizations are planning bus trips from Buffalo to the capital, and countless other Western New Yorkers will be flying or driving down — even if they don’t have one of the precious 240,000 tickets to the swearing-in ceremony.
With or without a ticket, witnessing the event live in Washington will require much more than the audacity of hope. It will require planning — and patience.
“Make sure you have a complete understanding of what the day might bring,” said Ed Donovan, a spokesman for the U. S. Secret Service.
Lon Anderson, spokesman for AAA Mid-Atlantic, agreed.
“Our advice would be to come prepared for a wonderful event, but realize that getting from Point A to Point B might be very difficult,” Anderson said. “It is going to take hours and hours to get around.”
Many of those planning to come to D. C. for the event are so excited about Obama’s inauguration that they don’t care that they might be walking long distances or watching the ceremonies on JumboTrons on the National Mall.
“That is fine,” said T. C. Coplin, a youth minister from Williamsville who says she plans to take a bus sponsored by Project L. E. E. Ministry. “We just want to be in that atmosphere.”
The swearing-in of an African- American as the president of the United States “is not going to happen again in terms of being the first, so they want to be there,” said Samuel A. Herbert, who put together an overnight bus trip to the inaugural for the Greater Refuge Temple in Buffalo.
The bus riders have some advantages over those traveling to Washington on their own.
The bus tour operators get passes that allow their vehicles to cross a Potomac River bridge into downtown Washington that will otherwise be closed, and many of the buses will be parked on city streets within two miles of the Capitol — which, on this day, is considered walking distance.
But if you’re driving in, say, to stay with friends in Arlington, Va., you will have to deal with the dual hassles of closed bridges and mobbed subways.
The bridge closures send a clear message: don’t drive.
But people from Buffalo and other points north may still be tempted to do so, given that they can easily drive into the District without crossing any bridges.
But you’ll only be able to get so far: driving will be banned south of K Street in downtown Washington.
Of course, many people will stay with friends or relatives in other parts of the city, which is just what Anne Wadsworth, the former manager of the Alice Kryzan congressional campaign, and her family will do.
“It’s a really seminal event, and we want to be part of it,” she said. “I sort of felt like we missed out on it on Election Night.”
Wadsworth’s family plans on taking Washington’s Metro subway system to and from the festivities — as do, oh, maybe a million other people.
Given that the system has never handled more than 854,000 people in any one day before, you can expect massive crowds at Metro stations and on subway trains.
“What people need to do is plan ahead,” said Steven Taubenkibel, a spokesman for the Metro system. “Know where you’re going to be starting; know where you’re going to want to go.”
And above all, Taubenkibel advises Metro users to go to the agency’s Web site — www.wmata.com — to buy their fare cards in advance, via mail. Even with a fare card in hand, Metro riders should start making their way to downtown D. C. as early as possible on the morning of the 20th, Taubenkibel said.
How early is early? The system opens at 4 a. m., and could be so crowded by the rush hour that it would be impossible to even find standing room on trains as they approach downtown Washington.
Those lucky enough to score tickets to the event have to leave especially early. Security checkpoints open at 8 a. m., and the congressional committee planning the inaugural ceremony advises that ticketed guests arrive no later than 9 to make sure they can clear the metal detectors in time for the 11:30 a. m. ceremony.
That will make it an early morning for former Buffalo Common Council President George K. Arthur, who will be staying with his son at a Baltimore hotel the night before and taking a train into D. C.
“It’s mind-boggling,” Arthur said. “You’re literally closing down the capital for this event.”
At least Arthur will get a seat and a chance to see the new president getting inaugurated. Most of the visitors from Buffalo won’t be so lucky.
Both Rep. Brian Higgins, D-Buffalo, and Rep. Louise M. Slaughter, D-Fairport, received about 3,000 ticket requests, often for multiple tickets — when they only had 198 tickets each, which they distributed by lottery.
For the first time, though, the National Mall to the west of the inaugural site will be open as a viewing area.
And while most of the people who gather there will be watching on one of the 12 JumboTrons placed along the way, those at the far east end of the Mall might actually get to see the ceremony, said Bill Line, a spokesman for the National Park Service, which manages the Mall.
The problem, though, is that the Mall might not be the most comfortable place to be on Jan. 20.
“You’re going to be in a sardine- like situation for five, six, seven hours,” Line said. “People should right now be asking themselves the question: Do I have the physical stamina to walk that far, walk that far back, and stand for four, five, six hours in-between?”
It doesn’t sound all that daunting to Herbert, who’s sponsoring one of the Buffalo bus tours.
“We are going to go as close . . . as we possibly can,” Herbert said. “If they tell us we can’t go any further, at whatever point we arrive at we have to adhere to security.”
Complicating matters further could be the weather, which in Washington in January can range from the sublime to the ridiculous.
The typical high is in the upper 30s, but days in the 50s are not uncommon. More rare are bitter Buffalo-like days like the one that drove President Ronald Reagan’s 1985 inaugural indoors or the one that blanketed John F. Kennedy’s inaugural in snow.
Arthur, for one, wouldn’t let a little bad weather stand in his way of witnessing a day he never thought he’d see.
“It’s very exciting,” Arthur said, who was Buffalo’s first black Common Council president and Obama’s first prominent local supporter. “It’s been
a long journey, and I have been part of it from beginning to end. I feel very blessed to be able to see it.”
Bus Trips
Greater Refuge Temple. Turnaround trip on a 56-passenger bus to Washington, D. C.
• Leaves Buffalo 10 p. m. Jan. 19.
• Arrives in Washington, D. C., at 5 or 6 a. m. Jan. 20.
• Leaves Washington for Buffalo at 5 p. m. Jan. 20.
• Price: $100 round trip. Potluck on the bus, bring something to share.
• Space available.
• Information, 886-2199.
Project L. E. E. Ministries. Trip to Hershey, Pa., on a 44-passenger bus next Sunday to Jan. 21. Will travel to Washington, D. C., for inaugural activities.
• Leaves Buffalo at 8 a. m. next Sunday.
• Arrives in Hershey next Sunday.
• Leaves Hershey for Buffalo early Jan. 21.
• Price: $155, including transportation and four people to a hotel room.
• Space available.
• Information, 563-1852.
Shine Management. Three nights and four days to Baltimore on a 56-passenger bus.
• Leaves Buffalo 6 a. m. next Sunday for the Renaissance Hotel in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor.
• Arrives in Baltimore about 3 or 4 p. m. next Sunday.
• Leaves Baltimore for Buffalo early morning Jan. 21.
• Tickets: $375 per person, including transportation and lodging with four people minimum in a room.
• Tickets also are available for $425 per person, including transportation, lodging and a special commemorative pass for the MARC train from Baltimore’s Penn Station to D. C.’s Union Station on Inauguration Day.
• Space available.
• Information, 908-0643.
WUFO. Two nights and three days. A 56-passenger bus to the Holiday Inn in Hershey, Pa.
• Leaves Buffalo next Sunday.
• Returns to Buffalo Jan. 20.
• Price: $125 per person for the bus, lodging based on how many people are in a room.
• Trip is booked.
AAA. To Manassas, Va., four days, three nights.
• Leaves Buffalo between 5 and 6 a. m. next Sunday.
• Returns to Buffalo evening of Jan. 21.
• Price: $879 per person double occupancy and includes transportation, lodging, professional tour guides.
• Trip is booked.
jzremski@buffnews.com and dswilliams@buffnews.com
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