Women's March on Philadelphia 2018: Roads, parking and security details
There are seven entry points where bags will be subject to search by police.
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Despite calls to boycott Saturday's Women's March on Philadelphia due to concerns about the police presence, tens of thousands of people are expected to converge on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway for the protest to mark the anniversary of President Trump's inauguration.
City officials have released details about parking restrictions, road closures, and entry points where bags are subject to search. That is a sticking point for some activists, who say conducting searches on marchers is "ostensibly stopping and frisking them."
Deputy Police Commissioner Dennis Wilson said that police vehicles will be stationed in the Parkway area beginning Saturday morning to prevent cars from driving toward the crowd and that metal barricades will be put up around the Parkway to help with crowd control — what he classified as standard measures at most large-scale events.
Wilson said rumors that police would have "security checkpoints" or that officers would be "stopping and frisking" attendees were not accurate. He said that officers would keep an eye out for anyone carrying prohibited items, such as weapons or drugs, but that there was no plan to conduct mass screening or searching of attendees.
"We're not frisking people," he said. "We're not infringing on anyone's First Amendment rights in any way."
Participants will begin assembling around Logan Square about 8 a.m. Anyone who wants to enter that assembly area can do so at the following locations:
18th Street and the Parkway
20th and Race Streets
20th and Vine Streets
The march will start around 11 a.m. at 20th and the Parkway and proceed to Eakins Oval for a rally with speakers and performers from noon to 3 p.m. Anyone who wants to attend only the rally portion can access Eakins Oval and the Parkway at the following locations:
22nd Street and the Parkway (north and south sides)
Pennsylvania Avenue and Spring Garden Street
25th Street and Kelly Drive
Eakins Oval, south side, near 24th Street
The city says the following items will not be allowed into the march area:
Weapons and contraband of any kind (regardless of permitting, e.g. right-to-carry permits will not be honored and weapons will be confiscated)
Fireworks or explosives
Illegal or illicit substances of any kind
Skateboards, motorized vehicles, or scooters (excluding motorized wheelchairs or similar equipment)
Laser pointers
Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) and drones of any kind
Attendees are "strongly discouraged" from carrying bags of any kind, as all bags are subject to search.
Road closures
The following streets will be closed starting from 5 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday:
The Parkway between 18th and 20th (including Logan Circle)
19th Street between Race and Vine
Race between 20th and Logan Circle
20th between Arch and Callowhill Street
The Parkway between 20th and Eakins Oval
21st Street between Pennsylvania Avenue and Winter Street
22nd between Pennsylvania Avenue and Race
23rd Street between Pennsylvania Avenue and the Parkway
Spring Garden between Pennsylvania Avenue and the Parkway
2000 block of Winter
Kelly Drive outbound from the Parkway to Fairmount Avenue
Martin Luther King Drive between Eakins Oval and Montgomery Drive
Spring Garden Street Bridge at 31st Street (local access will be maintained to Anne d'Harnoncourt Drive)
In addition, eastbound traffic on Kelly Drive must exit at Fairmount Avenue starting at 5 a.m. Saturday. Streets will be reopened gradually as the march progresses on the Parkway. It's expected that portions of Logan Circle and 20th Street will be reopened before 6 p.m.
Parking
The following streets will be designated "no parking" zones from 5 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday:
The Parkway from 16th to 20th
20th from Race Street to the Parkway
19th from Cherry Street to Vine
18th from Arch to Vine
17th Street from Race to Arch
1600 block of Cherry
The Parkway from 20th to Eakins Oval
21st between Pennsylvania Avenue and Race
22nd between Pennsylvania Avenue and Winter
2100 and 2200 blocks of Spring Garden (north side)
2000 block of Wintert
1400 to 1500 blocks of John F. Kennedy Boulevard (north side)
Vehicles parked in these locations during posted hours will be relocated.
Transit
SEPTA bus Routes 7, 32, 33, 38, 43 and 48 will be detoured around the Parkway area from about 5 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday. Detours will be posted here.