INCREASED THREAT LEVEL TRIGGERS HEIGHTENED LOCAL SECURITY; WEEKEND ARTSFEST TO HAVE ADDED SECURITY
Harrisburg, PA — In the wake of the increased national threat level to Orange Alert, Mayor Stephen R. Reed today announced some of the heightened security steps undertaken by the City of Harrisburg, including newly-implemented rules for the Memorial Day Weekend ArtsFest being held along the waterfront.
Reed said under federal guidelines for the Orange Alert Level, the second highest security threat classification, it is suggested that large events be assessed, moved to alternate locations, or outright cancelled.
This weekend is the annual ArtsFest at the Harrisburg waterfront, which normally attracts over 175,000 people over several days. The Mayor said a full security plan, such as what was used last year at major city festivals, must be implemented.
- No public parking on North Front Street from Forster to Paxton Streets will be allowed, and Front Street from Forster to Walnut Streets will be closed to through traffic.
- Additional police officers, both in uniform and plainclothes, will be assigned extra duty during all Festival dates.
- Coolers, backpacks, picnic baskets and boxes will not be permitted as carry-in items into the Festival areas.
- Use of see-through clear plastic bags is encouraged for items that are carried and carried items are subject to search by police.
- Workers and vendor trucks will not be permitted to park on Front Street during the Festival dates; delivery vehicles must move off Front Street after removing supplies.
- Water-filled Jersey barriers, which have the same weight as concrete barriers but are portable when water is drained, will be in use at strategic locations to prohibit vehicle entry.
- Trash containers will be placed along the edge of the river embankment rather than along the middle pathway of Riverfront Park.
- Vendor delivery vehicles, vans and passenger cars entering the restricted parking area on Front Street are subject to search.
- Police and other law enforcement personnel will have patrol boats in the Susquehanna River; and boats at both the boatramps and in the river are subject to inspection.
- Police, fire, medical and hospital emergency department personnel have received training for their functions and emergency management equipment and supplies have been stocked for any use for the Festival and year-round, as needed.
Further, the Mayor has ordered that:
- The City’s state-of-the-art Emergency Operations Center has been readied and able to function at a moment’s notice, and activated on an around the clock basis, providing risk assessment, interagency communications and operations implementation
- The City Government Center at 10 N. Second Street, and the McCormick Public Services Center at 123 Walnut Street are now accessible only through the guarded front doors of each building, and all persons and packages entering the buildings are subject to search, including vendors. All city employees must also wear their identification badges for access.
- The Pennsylvania Task Force One, administered by the city and which was the first team dispatched to the World Trade Center on 9/11, has been made operationally-ready.
- The City’s water and sewer plants and the DeHart Dam have been closed to public access and visitation; only those trucks or persons having business at the plants will be allowed in following inspection. Staffed security vehicles are posted at entrances.
- Certain high risk sites have additional security assigned.
- Decontamination equipment and supplies have been made ready for use, if needed.
- Police officers have been instructed to have their issued gas masks with them while on duty.
- Incoming packages and mail to City Government Center are now subject to increased inspection and review prior to distribution to agencies and staff.
- Certain monitoring, surveillance and patrol activities are occurring.
- Harrisburg maintains a continuous operational liaison with the Harrisburg FBI Office, with an officer assigned to them full-time to assist in counter- terrorism work.
- A review of other upcoming events at hotels and other city-based sites is being made to identify any that would require security upgrades.
- Persons in the city who observe suspicious activity or have possible information are invited to call city police at 255.3131.
Many aspects of the city’s security operations are classified and unable to be publicly divulged, said Mayor Reed, who also noted that there have been no specific threats against the city or facilities located here.
Reed urged residents to stay tuned to local media for important information and updates about the pending military actions in the Persian Gulf.
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