ATLANTA — Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens says that two events, only one of which was sanctioned, in Piedmont Park over the weekend left police spread too thin.
Channel 2’s Cory James spoke to neighbors who say the massive number of people in the area make them concerned for when emergencies happen.
Some say they sat in traffic for hours with no way in or out.
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“The neighborhood was completely invaded by thousands of vehicles,” said Charlie Kaften, who lives along Monroe Drive near the park. “The infrastructure does not exist for that kind of volume of traffic.”
Mark Thompson says he was surprised by how bad it was during the 404 Day celebration in the park.
“My friends had to drive home and it took them 45 minutes to go a couple blocks in either direction,” he said. “It was like nothing we had ever seen before.”
Both Thompson and Kaften told James they never saw police or any kind of traffic control.
Channel 2 Action News obtained a copy of a letter from the mayor’s office to councilmembers on Sunday, saying in part:
“The Atlanta Police Department was operating at full staffing levels last night.”
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It added that event organizers exceeded the requirement by hiring 11 sworn off-duty officers, 12 private security personnel and two on-site medics.
Kaften hopes that something will change before future big events like the FIFA World Cup.
“The mayor and city council need to understand what the reality is in this neighborhood,” he said. “There is no infrastructure to handle unlimited invasions of vehicles.”
James reached out to Councilmember Kelsea Bond, but did not hear back.
Mayor Andre Dickens says they are looking at last weekend’s events to see what improvements can be made to ensure the safety of people who live there.
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