With thousands of people from around the country coming into town for Circle City Classic activities, the streets of downtown Indianapolis could easily end up like the congested streets of New York City.
To prevent that from happening local police have helpful measures in place. Those measures are designed to make Circle City Classic weekend as fun and stress-free as possible.
Anthony Schneider, a public information officer for the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department (IMPD), said the traffic and safety plan for Circle City Classic will essentially be the same as it has been for the last couple of years.
“The department will have added officers downtown on street corners, as well as walking and driving around to insure the safety of people attending the event,” Schneider stated. “There will also be numerous officers in the streets directing traffic to try and keep a smooth and consistent traffic flow.”
Indianapolis will witness a major increase in vehicular and pedestrian traffic over the weekend, especially on Saturday, Oct. 1, the day of the Classic parade and game.
Traffic will be re-routed that morning due to the parade, which will travel from the intersection of North and Pennsylvania Streets to North and Meridian Streets.
Another sharp increase in traffic will occur in the area around Lucas Oil Stadium during the football games and the post-game show featuring Bow Wow and Monica.
In addition, pockets of road and building construction in different parts of downtown could test the patience of motorists as they try to navigate traffic and find parking spaces.
Schneider said IMPD will have officers stationed near construction sites to help keep traffic flowing.
“The department is encouraging construction contractors to open traffic lanes if possible to accommodate the additional number of vehicles in the downtown area,” he said.
Officials with Indiana Black Expo (IBE), which oversees Circle City Classic, say public safety, for both drivers and pedestrians, is a top priority for the organization.
“We are working with law enforcement and providing them with any information needed to help make sure this year’s activities are safe and manageable,” said Vernon Williams, a spokesman for IBE.
Motorists and pedestrians downtown during Circle City Classic are encouraged to head for their destinations well in advance of the time they need to arrive, because it may take longer for them to get where they need to go.
“As with other large events around the city, the officers working the event will be doing their best to move traffic and pedestrians along,” Schneider said. “If someone is going downtown for any events, we encourage them to be patient, be aware of their surroundings and if driving, watch out for the increase in pedestrians and officers standing in and around the streets.”
