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Congressman Clay Advises Inaugural Visitors
01/06/09
For Immediate Release Tuesday, January 6, 2009 |
MEDIA CONTACT:STEVEN ENGELHARDT (314) 504-4029 |
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Washington, DC - Congressman Clay Advises Inaugural Visitors to Come Early, Dress Warmly, and Bring Extra Patience
"My best advise to St. Louisans who are planning to attend President-elect Obama's inauguration is to prepare in advance for a long, cold day; start early; and bring an extra measure of patience to the event. St. Louisans who are attending the event are invited to come by my newly relocated Capitol Hill office for some hospitality. We are located in Room 2418 of the Rayburn House Office Building. (located Southwest of the Capitol and bounded by Independence Avenue, South Capitol Street, First Street, and C Street, S.W.) TIMING Security checkpoints will open for ticketed guests at 8:00 AM, and the committee advises arriving no later than 9:00 AM to ensure that you are through the checkpoints by the time the program begins. Screening will end when the program begins at 11:30 AM and late arrivals will not be able to enter the grounds. GETTING TO THE SWEARING-IN Getting to the swearing-in ceremonies that morning will be very difficult because of the large crowds. In addition to the 240,000 ticketed guests, a million or more people are expected to view the inauguration from the National Mall between 4th Street and the Lincoln Memorial, along with hundreds of thousands of others who plan on watching the Inaugural parade down Pennsylvania Avenue. The District of Columbia’s inaugural website will have the most up-to-date information on road closures and other travel alerts. We recommend that guests bookmark t he site, http://www.inauguration.dc.gov/index.asp, and check it frequently for changing information.
For those people who will be staying within 2 Miles of the U.S. Capitol, walking to the swearing-in ceremony will be the most reliable method of reaching the ticketed seated and standing areas. Be sure to carefully plan your return trip as well – it won’t be possible to cross the Pennsylvania Avenue parade route, except at designated points and Metro will be extremely crowded. D.C.’s subway system will be running “rush-hour” service all day, but is expecting “crush-level” crowds. Be prepared to wait for space on a train for long periods of time, during which you will have to stand in close proximity to several thousand people. Many Metro escalators will be closed due to crowding and individuals will need to climb Metro stairs or wait to utilize the small number of elevators at Metro stations. The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) plans to run Metrobuses on Inauguration Day. Check its website, www.wmata.com, for information regarding routes and schedules. As with any other travel planning for January 20, please allow extra time and prepare a back-up plan.
ACCESSIBILITY FOR PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES OTHER IMPORTANT CONSIDERATIONS The weather in Washington on January 20th is usually quite cold and often rainy or snowy. Please think carefully about whether you can stand outside in cold weather in a large crowd for up to six hours, and whether you are ready for long delays getting home afterwards.
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