REVELERS, PROTESTERS TO CLOG DC
Officials expect up to 900,000 people to party or protest
Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to clog the nation’s capital for Donald Trump’s inauguration and a major demonstration the day after, but how many will actually arrive to party or protest is an open question.
Officials estimate that 800,000 to 900,000 people will be present Friday for the inauguration, a celebration that takes over the city, closing roads, taxing the city’s Metro transit system and making getting around difficult. Trump himself has promised “massive crowds” but just what that will mean is unclear.
Hundreds of thousands of others are expected Saturday for the Women’s March on Washington.
Trump showed he could draw crowds during the campaign, but his supporters weren’t so quick to make plans to be in Washington for his inauguration.
City planners are betting that Trump’s inauguration is more like President Barack Obama’s second inauguration in 2013, which drew more than 800,000, rather than Obama’s first in 2009, which drew 1.8 million people.
But while officials have experience and historical data to draw on to estimate crowds for Friday, guessing how many people will show up for Saturday’s demonstration is harder.
Christopher Geldart, the District of Columbia’s homeland security director, said some 1,800 buses have registered to park in the city on Jan. 21, which would mean nearly 100,000 people coming in just by bus, Geldart said. Amtrak trains into and out of the city are also fully booked on that day, Geldart said.
In contrast, approximately 400 buses have registered to park in the city on Inauguration Day, said Terry Owens, a spokesman for the District Department of Transportation, though he said that number is growing daily.
For their part, march organizers are trying to get a headcount by asking people who plan to participate to fill out a questionnaire on their website. That will help ensure they have the right number of things like portable toilets, medical tents and food trucks, said Janaye Ingram, who is handling march logistics.