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Parking Problems Expected With Big Obama Crowd
Posted May 20, 2008 by William March
Updated May 20, 2008 at 01:43 PM
The Barack Obama campaign is now saying it expects an overflow crowd at the St. Pete Times Forum for his rally there tomorrow, and Tampa police say that means severe parking problems downtown.
They’re urging people to park outside downtown and take a trolley or bus to the forum.
Spokeswoman Laura McElroy of the Tampa Police Department said parking isn’t normally a major problem for events that fill the forum, but those events usually are at night—this one will be mid-day on a weekday, with downtown parking already filled by commuters.
The police are suggesting people arrive early and park in Ybor City in the 13th Street or 15th Street parking decks, then take the trolley-style bus to the forum. City officials said they’re cutting the fare, and the total for parking and the trolley, McElroy noted, will be cheaper than downtown parking. Another alternative—park in the Marion Street transit center. Free buses will run from there to within a few blocks of the forum.
Another reason to arrive early, McElroy said, is that attendees will have to go through metal detectors to get inside the forum.
McElroy said the campaign has upped its estimate from 10,000-12,000 people to an overflow crowd at the forum which seats around 20,000 or more, depending on the seating configuration.
The campaign says it will pipe audio from the event to what’s expected to be an overflow crowd outside. It’s also likely, McElroy said, that there will be at least some anti-Obama protesters outside.
She said Tampa police are accustomed to dealing with such situations, and will set up “a safe area for them to exercise their First Amendment right”—a so-called “free speech zone”—if a protest materializes. She said the area will be in view of the crowd for the event.
McElroy said the police will have twice the number of traffic officers they usually use for full forum events, 40 instead of 20.
The U.S. Secret Service, which protects Obama and other presidential candidates, is in charge of security.
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