http://66.225.205.104/JR20120724.mp3
The Secret Service has released a security plan for the Republican National Convention this August in Tampa that includes dozens of street closures and traffic disruptions. WFAE's Julie Rose reports on what the plan forebodes for Charlotte during the first week of September. A security map of streets surrounding the Tampa convention sites is solid red indicating closures for blocks in every direction. Hundreds of on-street parking spaces will disappear. Sidewalks will be blocked with concrete barriers and the plan warns that frequent motorcades will cause delays and temporary closures on freeways around the Tampa Bay area. A Secret Service spokesman says the security plan for Charlotte during Democratic National Convention should be released sometime in the next two weeks. Charlotte Center City Partners CEO Michael Smith says the details in that plan should not come as a surprise to Uptown businesses. "The Secret Service and CMPD have worked very well with our major employers and we think there's been good open lines of communication that have allowed them to take the steps they need to take until the entire plan is released," says Smith. Center City Partners, Smith's group, has long encouraged people who work and live Uptown to plan on using public transit, walking or biking during the DNC. Convention officials hope the disruption in Charlotte will be somewhat less than in Tampa, since the first day of DNC festivities falls on Labor Day when many businesses are closed. Also, Charlotte's convention sites are closer together than they are in Tampa. The continued mantra of Uptown boosters like Smith is, "We intend to be open for business that week." Open, yes. But conveniently accessible? Probably not.