Police protect astroturf to obstruct Seattle traffic

The Seattle Times tells us that:

Hundreds of demonstrators marched onto Seattle’s University Bridge Thursday halting traffic during the evening rush hour in one of several rallies nationwide for “Jobs Not Cuts.”

You may ask:  How did they manage to get “hundreds” to show up, and how could “hundreds” halt traffic?

• They were able to halt traffic because
  

  Seattle police escorted the group from the University of Washington to the University Bridge, and later reported there had been no conflicts in what they termed “the peaceful demonstrations.”

  Peaceful because the police by protecting the astroturf prevented motorists from getting where they wanted to go, which the motorists probably felt was not at all peaceful.

• And “hundreds” showed up at the protest assembly site where the march to obstruct traffic was prepared because:
  

  … a couple hundred people were milling about. … representatives from various unions. However, despite the fact that the protest was being held on the University of Washington’s campus, precious few students.

  …I overheard a young woman saying something about how attending the protest was part of her gender/women’s studies class.