There’s been a lot of criticism over the decision to close the VA-to-DC bridges to auto traffic on inauguration day.

It’s really pretty simple.

1. Literally millions of people are expected to come to the inauguration. Many, many more than on a typical weekday, or to any past inauguration. Planners predict this will be the most attended single event in American history.
2. There is not enough road or parking capacity to accommodate even a significant fraction of those people by car. If the bridges were open to cars, the result would be utter and complete gridlock, not only because there would be more cars than road capacity, but because once cars crossed the bridges, there would be no place for them to go. In order to provide places for people to stand to watch the proceedings, downtown streets have to close. These closures begin almost immediately on the DC side of the Potomac, so any cars that successfully crossed the bridges would run immediately into a wall.
3. The only way to accommodate the massive numbers of people is to turn the bridges and highways into transitways. There will be thousands of buses and taxis from all over the country that will use the highways and bridges to get into the District. By focusing on moving transit rapidly, the overall capacity of the road system is HIGHER. In this situation, allowing cars on these roads and bridges would harm overall mobility because everyone would be stuck in the world’s largest traffic jam. Restricting use of private autos is the only way to actually get anybody in or out.

So, a few suggestions:

• Go to CommuterPage and learn about your options.
• The single best way to get anywhere on inauguration day is probably via a private tour bus. If you’re coming from the Midwest, you’re in luck.
• If you live outside the Beltway, take the train. Be aware that if you’re taking Metro, trains will fill up at or near the end-line stations, and if you’re taking MARC or VRE, you’ll need to buy your tickets ahead of time.
• If you live inside the Beltway, don’t plan on using Metro. For the most part, trains will be full by the time they get to you. Instead, plan on using some of the expanded bus options or cycling. Cyclists will be allowed on the pedestrian-only streets, and will be allowed to cross some of the bridges that are closed to cars. Most of the regional bus systems, including MetroBus, are running additional buses on the trunk corridors into downtown. Additionally, taxis will have more movement freedom than private cars, so they are an option for some, but they’ll likely be in high demand and short supply.

Long story short: It is impossible to fit that many cars into that tight a space. The system isn’t set up to handle this sort of crowd, so we have to jury-rig a new temporary system that has drastically higher capacity. The only way anybody will be able to get anywhere on such a unique occasion is to use unique transportation options. Unfortunately, that excludes the private automobile.