Washington residents are getting hit with a one-two punch of presidential inauguration coverage. There’s the national media covering the upcoming historic event, and then there’s the local news covering: the logistics, the parade route, worry over our rickety metro and our unreliable bus system, the estimated number of tourists, renting out the guest room, how late bars will stay open on inauguration night, how many police officers we’ll need, the list goes on.
I can’t help but love every minute of all of this. I’m addicted to the coverage. To me, all of this inauguration planning and reporting is akin to listening to a really horrific traffic report while sitting on the couch with a beer; I’m sure glad I’m not sitting in that mess!
I’ve been involved in large-scale event planning on behalf of clients before. Long time readers will remember my posts as I worked this year’s Papal Visit. Planning for the inauguration is no doubt up there with the Pope. Maybe even more so in terms of just raw number of spectators. I have a real appreciation for the hard work being done right now across the city by thousands of elected officials, council members, security personnel.
In spirit of being a pure non contributing bystander, I’m launching a series documenting D.C’s efforts to generally spruce up the place before nine gazillion people show up. I’m calling it Inaug-Apocalypse – a reflection of the coming event and DC’s hysteria surrounding it and my zero percent role in all of this.
(courtesy of Zyphichore via flickr)
For the first post, I’ll look back over the last few weeks, highlighting the hang wringing. In no particular order, here’s a scan of what’s been in the news lately:
– DC MetBlogs gave us the heads up on the No Camping Out on the mall rule, adding, “it seems as if walking is the best way to get anywhere – even in and out of the city. I can see it now, a scene straight out of Cloverfield, thousands of people trying to find an open bridge to walk across to escape DC.”
– Travel Blogger, Gadling, tells us where to go if you have to go. Reminding us that “according to the statistics, there is one toilet for every 6,849 people.“
– Security Management News quoted the Secret Service as saying “We do not have the entire picture today..the entire plan is not completed yet.” Adding that the city’s bus and rail system expects “crush-load conditions…”
– Inauguration Survival Guide helps tourists read our parking signs, telling new comers “Interpreting DC parking signs is more of an art than a science.”
– DCist wonders why we’re looking for extra cops all the way over in LA. “…why is the city asking for help all the way from Los Angeles? Are there really not enough officers available closer by?”
– Local news radio station WTOP reports that the massive influx of visitors could “overwhelm cell phone towers and broadband service.”
– And finally, our second-tier hometown rag, The Washington Times, gives it to us straight in an article headlined D.C. Nightmare Looms for Inauguration “Restaurants can expect delays in food deliveries, hotel guests can expect slow broadband Internet service during peak hours, and tourists can expect to encounter crowds of evening commuters as they make their way to inaugural balls at rush hour…”
