US Capital Tries to Cut Visits To Famed Cherry Blossoms Park
2020-03-24
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1Washington, D.C.'s cherry trees are known around the world for their blossoms.
2The beautiful flowers brighten up many areas along the Potomac River each spring.
3But this year as the blossoms go through peak bloom, the District of Columbia government is trying to stop visits to the Tidal Basin, where many of the trees grow.
4D.C. officials have appealed to the United States National Park Service to close off the area as part of efforts to help stop the spread of the new coronavirus.
5Officials say the expected crowds make it impossible for people to stay at least two meters from one another as health experts have advised.
6The Metropolitan Police Department closed several streets, bridges and traffic circles in the area Sunday morning, trying to limit the usual crowds.
7The cherry trees reached full bloom on Friday and should stay that way for about 10 days.
8"It's getting weirder and weirder," said National Park Service spokesman Mike Litterst about his efforts to stop people from visiting.
9Officials are instead directing cherry blossom lovers to the "live" bloom camera and video recordings of the Tidal Basin.
10"It's educational and it gets you close to the blossoms," said Karyn Le Blanc of the Cherry Blossom Festival.
11"These are strange times," she added.
12The crowds, Litterst said, have already been much smaller than "what we would see in a normal spring."
13But, he added, Saturday brought in such a jump in the number of visitors that officials were persuaded to take action.
14The effort to reduce visiting appears to be working.
15At the Tidal Basin Sunday, visitors walked in small groups of three or four instead of larger groups.
16The street closures slowed traffic in a few places.
17But in some areas, families enjoyed the streets newly open to walkers only.
18Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser on Friday asked both city residents and visitors to stay inside and away from other people.
19Washington's public transport system closed down two stations nearest to the Tidal Basin in the hopes of reducing crowds.
20"Don't treat this like a normal weekend, there will be more nice days," Bowser said.
21She declared a state of emergency and closed all schools through the end of April.
22The total number of coronavirus infections is now more than 500 in D.C. and the nearby states of Virginia and Maryland.
23Washington-based star chef and philanthropist Jose Andres took to Twitter Sunday morning to ask people to avoid the Tidal Basin.
24Under the hashtag #StayHomeCherryBlossomsChallenge, Andres promised to "cook a huge Paella for thousands of Washingtonians" next year if they kept the crowds small.
25His followers supported his request by posting pictures of their cherry blossom trees in their neighborhoods for all to enjoy online.
26I'm Jonathan Evans.
1Washington, D.C.'s cherry trees are known around the world for their blossoms. The beautiful flowers brighten up many areas along the Potomac River each spring. 2But this year as the blossoms go through peak bloom, the District of Columbia government is trying to stop visits to the Tidal Basin, where many of the trees grow. 3D.C. officials have appealed to the United States National Park Service to close off the area as part of efforts to help stop the spread of the new coronavirus. Officials say the expected crowds make it impossible for people to stay at least two meters from one another as health experts have advised. 4The Metropolitan Police Department closed several streets, bridges and traffic circles in the area Sunday morning, trying to limit the usual crowds. The cherry trees reached full bloom on Friday and should stay that way for about 10 days. 5"It's getting weirder and weirder," said National Park Service spokesman Mike Litterst about his efforts to stop people from visiting. 6Officials are instead directing cherry blossom lovers to the "live" bloom camera and video recordings of the Tidal Basin. 7"It's educational and it gets you close to the blossoms," said Karyn Le Blanc of the Cherry Blossom Festival. 8"These are strange times," she added. 9The crowds, Litterst said, have already been much smaller than "what we would see in a normal spring." But, he added, Saturday brought in such a jump in the number of visitors that officials were persuaded to take action. 10The effort to reduce visiting appears to be working. At the Tidal Basin Sunday, visitors walked in small groups of three or four instead of larger groups. The street closures slowed traffic in a few places. But in some areas, families enjoyed the streets newly open to walkers only. 11Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser on Friday asked both city residents and visitors to stay inside and away from other people. Washington's public transport system closed down two stations nearest to the Tidal Basin in the hopes of reducing crowds. 12"Don't treat this like a normal weekend, there will be more nice days," Bowser said. 13She declared a state of emergency and closed all schools through the end of April. The total number of coronavirus infections is now more than 500 in D.C. and the nearby states of Virginia and Maryland. 14Washington-based star chef and philanthropist Jose Andres took to Twitter Sunday morning to ask people to avoid the Tidal Basin. Under the hashtag #StayHomeCherryBlossomsChallenge, Andres promised to "cook a huge Paella for thousands of Washingtonians" next year if they kept the crowds small. 15His followers supported his request by posting pictures of their cherry blossom trees in their neighborhoods for all to enjoy online. 16I'm Jonathan Evans. 17Reuters News Agency reported this story. Caty Weaver adapted it for VOA Learning English. George Grow was the editor. 18_______________________________________________________________ 19Words in This Story 20peak bloom - (from NPS.gov) the day when 70% of the Yoshino Cherry blossoms are open. 21weird - adj. of strange or extraordinary character 22resident - n. someone who lives in a particular place 23chef - n. a professional cook who usually leads a kitchen in a restaurant 24philanthropist - n. a wealthy person who gives money and time to help make life better for other people