Boston Police Say They’re Ready for the Super Bowl Crowds
After all, this isn't our first rodeo.
Photo via AP/Steven Senne
If there’s any city that knows how to handle the crowds after a Super Bowl, it’s Boston.
City officials said Friday that they have a plan for dealing with those who might feel compelled to gather somewhere downtown after this Sunday’s game.
“Our number one goal here is for the Pats to win and nobody get hurt,” Boston Police Commissioner William Evans said at a Friday press conference.
Road closures and parking restrictions will begin early in the evening, and access to Kenmore Square and some surrounding areas will be restricted beginning after the third quarter. Those still parked in parking lots in the area after the game may be kept from driving away until crowds dissipate. Parking restrictions will also be in place in other parts of the city, including Harvard and Brighton Ave., near the TD Garden, and near Quincy Market.
Evans said to expect an enhanced presence of police in uniform and undercover around the city, as well as a few more cameras. Additional patrols should be expected in areas like the Seaport and other parts of South Boston, Evans said.
An email was sent to college students in the area urging them to act responsibly, he said. That hasn’t been much of an issue in the past, he added. Revelers have stayed safe, and last year a number of them have gather on Boston Common, which police prefer to celebrations on the street near traffic.
Boston Mayor Marty Walsh said having a successful post-game celebration should be a point of pride for the city. In Philly, remember, they have to keep coming up with innovative ways of greasing the city’s poles ahead of all the sports-related rioting.
“This is our city. We’re Boston. We’re better than other cities,” Walsh said. “Let’s make sure that [whether] we win or lose [we show] respect. Let’s make sue we treat other people’s property fair and good [and] appropriately, the way you’d want your property treated, and let’s make sure we respect each other.”
Walsh said that also applies to how Pats fans treat Eagles fans in the city. “Let’s not go around and torture them,” he said. “We’ve had some great fortune in our city in the last decade and a half with our sports teams, and our football team operates with class on the field, so as fans we should operate with class in the streets.”
Inside the room where the press conference was held, City Hall’s Eagle Room, a giant wood sculpture of an the majestic bird could be seen draped in a Pats hat and scarf.
And the room had a temporary new name, according to Walsh: The Belichick Room.
The black curtain has been pulled back from the Eagle Room eagle to reveal a Patriots fan. #Patriots #Boston pic.twitter.com/J44ji7yYwi
— Lana Jones (@Lanawbz) February 2, 2018
