Convention security details announced

Less than three weeks out from the Democratic National Convention, officials announced road closures and security perimeters and again addressed plans for dealing with protests.

The security plan, confined mostly to South Philadelphia near the Wells Fargo Center, is more limited than the much larger papal visit's security footprint in the fall.

Unlike during the papal visit, all major highways in Philadelphia, including I-95, will remain open to passenger vehicles throughout the convention. The Broad Street Line will run, with added service to AT&T Station.

Streets around the stadiums and some exit ramps on I-95 and I-76 will be closed starting the Friday before the convention, which runs July 25-28.

Mayor Kenney said the restrictions are what the city expected.

"The Secret Service are experts in keeping people safe and taking care of dignitaries and others," he said. "It's only four days in July. We'll survive."

Plans for handling protests dominated a briefing at City Hall on Thursday, attended by representatives from the Secret Service, FBI, Philadelphia Police Department, and nearly a dozen other agencies.

Tens of thousands of protesters are expected, according to permit applications filed with the city.

Demonstrations will likely occur throughout the city, but FDR Park in South Philadelphia is expected to be the epicenter.

Officials said that fencing around FDR Park would not block demonstrators' visibility, a concern voiced in recent weeks.

"It is in close proximity to the delegates," deputy managing director Brian Abernathy said. "Buses drive right by them. They will be seen and they will be heard."

Police Commissioner Richard Ross said his department is prepared to handle permitted and unplanned protests with the same calm he says police have shown in the city in recent months. Officers will be wearing traditional uniforms, not riot gear.

Ross would not say whether protesters who remain in FDR Park after it closes each evening will be forcibly removed. The city has said it will not allow overnight camping.

"We're not prepared to tell you that absolutely we're going to enforce this this way," Ross said. "I mean, clearly, we're not encouraging that down there, but then again . . . we don't encourage unpermitted protests, but we allow that to go on."

Ross is sending some members of his department to observe police in Cleveland during the Republican National Convention on July 18-21.

After the police shooting of Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge, La., this week, dozens of protests directed at law enforcement have occurred nationwide, including in Philadelphia.

"There are going to be protests tonight," Ross said. "There were protests last night; there will be other protests leading up to the DNC, so we would be remiss and naïve to think those won't continue."

During the convention, only people with tickets or credentials can access the Wells Fargo Center, where they will go through security checkpoints. Attendees are prohibited from bringing in certain items, including weapons, selfie sticks, balloons, and backpacks.

Airspace restrictions are also in effect, and most commercial vehicles will have to follow detours around the stadium.

A quarter mile from the Wells Fargo Center, Joe Eastman, 65, said he has no problem with the information already released but fears late additions.

"It's going to be an inconvenience for us, sure, but we get that," he said. "What I'm wondering is what else are they going to inform us about at the last minute?"

Barbara Capozzi, president of the Packer Park Civic Association, said she and her neighbors are used to being inconvenienced.

"Honestly, we are so numb from living by the sports complex. This is just one more big event," she said.

Capozzi, who is on the board of FDR Park, said she hopes police don't remove people who refuse to leave for the night. "If I had a choice between them camping there or walking the streets in the neighborhood, they've got to go some place," Capozzi said. "I think it's better for the neighbors and the police to let them be."

Bill Dovas hopes demonstrators work up an appetite and walk less than a mile down the street to the Penrose Diner.

Dovas, general manager of the Penrose, worries that street closures will make it difficult for customers who come by car from the south to get to the diner.

Dovas said he overprepared for the papal visit and hopes crowds leaving FDR might make for good business.

"We're a straight shot down 20th if they get hungry," he said. "We're probably the first stop. Come on in."

jterruso@phillynews.com

215-854-5506

@juliaterruso