While the cherry blossoms around the Tidal Basin in D.C. reached peak bloom last week, there is still enough of a bloom that might entice visitors to get just a little too close to one another.
That’s why the National Park Service — with the help of D.C. police and U.S. Park Police — is continuing road closures and bike and pedestrian restrictions in that area for at least another week.
Closures are in effect from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. each day.
Mike Litterst, the Park Service’s chief of communications for the National Mall and Memorial Parks, said that the closures are constantly being evaluated, and that a new recommendation will be made on Sunday.
“What we found at the start of peak bloom — and what people are finding all over the city and all over the country — is that one or two people go out to some place and say ‘I can practice social distancing safely,’ but if a thousand people all have that same idea, it becomes increasingly difficult to keep them a safe distance apart,” Litterst said.
Pedestrian and bicycle traffic are restricted around the Tidal Basin and Jefferson Memorial. The public is not allowed in the park area south of Independence Avenue Southwest.
Litterst noted that the walking path along the Tidal Basin is particularly difficult to control because it is narrow at some points and, obviously, bordered by water on one side. The specific information related to the decision to close the area is noted in a record of determination updated on March 30, available on the National Park Service website.
If you want to see the current conditions around the Tidal Basin, check out the Park Service’s Cherry Blossom Cam.
The roads below are closed from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. each day:
- The Memorial Bridge.
- Lincoln Memorial Circle.
- Potomac River Freeway (all exits to Ohio Drive and Independence Avenue).
- Rock Creek Parkway/Potomac Parkway Drive (between Virginia Avenue and Independence Southwest).
- Independence Avenue between Ohio Drive and 14th Street Southwest.
- 23rd Street between Constitution Avenue and Lincoln Memorial Circle.
- Henry Bacon Drive between Constitution Avenue Northwest and Independence Avenue Southwest.
- 17th Street between Constitution Avenue Northwest and Independence Avenue Southwest.
- 15th Street between Constitution Avenue Northwest and Independence Avenue Southwest.
- Maine Avenue between Independence and 12th Street Southwest.
- All vehicular exits to East Potomac Park and West Potomac Park.
The National Park Service’s National Mall and Memorial Parks page has more information about closures.
- Sign up for news alerts from WTOP
- Va., Md. were pumping out jobs before coronavirus hit
- Data Doctors: Working from home opportunities
- Tips for enduring the coronavirus outbreak while working from home
- DC-area companies hiring during coronavirus crisis
- Coronavirus test results in DC, Maryland and Virginia
- Coronavirus FAQ: What you need to know
