July 5, 2005: NORTON COMMENDS JULY 4th SECURITY DRILL BUT SEES ISSUES
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 5, 2005
NORTON COMMENDS JULY 4th SECURITY DRILL BUT SEES ISSUES
Washington, DC--Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), a member of the Homeland Security Committee, in response to inquiries, made the following statement on the emergency evacuation drill conducted after the July 4th fireworks on the National Mall last night.
"I commend security officials and D.C. traffic experts for pioneering an actual real time drill involving hundreds of thousands of people. I hope that they will continue this process downtown. However, I still am not sure what they were testing--how fast pedestrians can move to Metro to be evacuated, whether cars will respond to extended light signals or both or something in addition. Better communication to the public, several says beforehand, rather than one-day notice, and clearer communication of objectives and goals are needed. I will have staff at the debriefings as we begin the process of learning by doing."