I had a few local law enforcement types shake their heads at what they perceive to be a potential disaster in the making given the number of people attending Obama’s inauguration, and the potential crowd control and logistical nightmares that are going to ensue.
Any merit to these concerns?
Most years, including this one, my firm is involved in the planning of the crowd- & emergency management for the Super Bowl.
That is a non-trivial exercise involving many dozens of government & private agencies, over a hundred planners & many thousands of people doing the work during the week long event which culminates in the game.
In addition to the ~75,000 people who have tickets to the game, another ~200,000 -300,000 show up to attend the parties or to sell stuff to the crowd, or to steal stuff from the crowd. Seriously, pickpockets & whores fly in from around the country for the big score.
We have no role in the inauguration, but to my eye the problems are similar, both in type & in scale.
I haven’t followed it closely, so I may be all wet if it turns out half the USA, or at least half of Black USA, intends to make a pilgrimmage.
I would be very concerned if it appeared that vast numbers of less educated poorer folks were preparing to travel en masse without really having thought through their plans for when they get there. A half-million people who can’t use a credit card to offset their lack of planning could really produce a no-win situation for both Obama & the local authorities.
Where these people among those who believed that there’d be blood in the streets of Denver if Obama didn’t get the nod?
If so, their concerns can be dismissed as more foolishness.
What does this have to do with the OP in any way, shape, or form. This has nothing to do with corralling angry political protesters, this is about managing the influx of so many people into a limited area they will utterly overwhelm the authorities ability to manage the crowd safely.
D.C. used to routinely get close to a million people for fireworks on July 4th, maybe they still do. They didn’t seem to have too many problems with those crowds.
I’m sure anyone getting close to Obama will be thouroughly checked, but if someone were determined to cause havoc in the faraway crowd, they could do it.
“…attendees may be in danger?”
It is in DC, correct? Of course they will be in danger.
Estimates for attendees range from 2-5 million. Also, this is not a fireworks show where everyone goes back to McLean, Silver Springs, and Chevy Chase afterwards. A lot of people will be in the city for several days.
Wild rumors swirl about Obama at all times. It’s best to take that into account when evaluating new and dire predictions of disaster.
Dang, I was gonna come in with that link.
Like many other similar events, the hype got so big and exaggerated that it avoided its own problems. How long have we been hearing about NO HOTEL SPACE ANYWHERE, at the very least?
It’s not the hotel space that concerns me. I saw on television that there will be one restroom for approximately every 7,000+ people.
They’re going to be trucking in port-a-johns by the thousands, NPR said. Still, there’s a potential for some serious crowd-control and sanitation problems. Hopefully everyone will be cool and all will go well. :: crossing fingers ::
A recent New Yorker cartoon was simply a map of southern Maryland, Washington, D.C., and northern Virginia, divided into grids. The caption read, “Obstructed-view seating for the Presidential Inauguration.” 
They’re closing down the highways the norning of the inauguration, so that should help. Still, it would take a decent amount of money to get me into DC that day: http://voices.washingtonpost.com/getthere/2009/01/road_restrictions_for_inaugura.html
How does this compare to the crowds at his acceptance speech in Chicago?
I didn’t hear of any problems there.
And why are people attending this event anyway. With that many people you’re not going to see or much less hear anything. Do these people realize that?
Or does being in anywhere in DC while he gets sworn in automatically grant you “I was there!” bragging rights?
It’s going to suck for those people who have to work that day.
There will be huge traffic jams in Northern Virginia due to the highway closures; i.e., to reduce public safety problems in DC, they will create public safety problems across the river.
I would not want to have to go to a hospital for any reason in either DC or NoVa on that day.
I’m driving to the inauguration from Birmingham with a couple of friends.
Yes.
Depends - my cousin is a waitress downtown and is thrilled. Yeah, maybe she’ll get stranded downtown, but I’m sure she’ll do land office business in tips.
I would think that would delay the last-minute people coming in.
I assume they’re doing that because there’s no way people are going to find a place to park. That’s a big problem on a normal day. So they’re recommending that people familiarize themselves with the Metro rail system and park ~40 miles away or so and take the train in.