This was not the strongest St. Patrick’s Day Festival our city has hosted, which comes as little surprise to those in the tourism industry.
With the parade falling on a Monday and rain that didn’t seem to want to go away — despite the pleading of local businesses — fewer people descended on Savannah last week than in years past.
Fewer numbers did not make the mission of our police department and other city services less critical.
Even with bad weather, tens of thousands came. They were looking for a good time. They wanted green beer. They walked the streets, drinks in hand. They listened to bands and met with old and new friends. Despite the rain, it looked fairly normal to any festival-goer.
But if you look behind the curtain, there was quite a bit of orchestration amongst various city services.
As a spokesperson for the tourism industry, I have been invited for the last two years to observe the inner workings of what the city does to help make this festival a success.
During this four-day event, my nights started in Savannah’s Emergency Command Center (ECC). This is the information hub for the city.
The ECC was filled with representatives from police, fire, EMS, traffic engineering and parking services. Each of these representatives were sharing information and working together to ease traffic, respond to concerns and even disperse crowds.
The ECC was built last year and was used for the first time during the St. Patrick’s festival in 2013.
It was clear more officers patrolled the streets, but what’s less obvious is the strong camera network that police use to monitor and then act on any area that needs crowd control.
These cameras are powerful tools for our city, located at street intersections and corridors throughout the city.
Major Dean [filtered word]erstrom was the officer in charge of this year’s festival. His leadership was impressive. He seemed to be at ease throughout the festival but ever vigilant to the mood and feel of the crowd.
And he got out into the crowd often.
He, Assistant Chief Terry Enoch and Downtown Precinct Commander Captain Ben Herron walked up and down the streets.
I joined them for two of the four nights, and we walked, several times each night and into the early morning hours, through City Market, River Street and the rest of downtown.
This command staff talked to party-goers. They gave directions. They assisted visitors with suggestions about safety. They engaged residents, guests and business owners with a helping attitude — and always with a smile.
This command staff also knew the importance of being with their officers. They talked to what seemed to me hundreds of officers on patrol. They shook hands. They asked how the officers were doing. They answered procedural questions and made adjustments as needed.
After walking what seemed to be the entire historic district, we again returned to the ECC. When we arrived, I found Alderman Van Johnson getting an update from Chief Julie Tolbert.
It seemed every player was engaged. Steve Henry from traffic engineering was there. Interestingly, he noticed a problem with pedestrian traffic and began to look for a possible solution.
EMS responded to a traffic accident. Parking Services directed shuttles to nearby parking lots. Alderman Johnson asked me how the businesses were doing this year.
He gets it. This is a huge undertaking for our city and, for some businesses, the most important four days of the year.
As we talked, I noticed [filtered word]erstrom gave the order to close off a street to cars at the recommendation of traffic engineer Henry. I was impressed with the solution Henry had found. His suggestion had an immediate, positive effect to both pedestrians and car traffic. We watched the cameras as congestion eased. It was eye-opening how these seemingly subtle changes could make such an impact on the crowd.
Everyone involved knew there was a careful balancing act that would go on all weekend and into Monday. The festival participants bring money into our economy, but their sheer numbers can potentially pose a challenge for public safety and order.
Next year will also prove a lighter crowd as the parade will fall on a Tuesday. Revenues won’t be as high as when the parade falls on a Saturday.
Still, organizers are preparing; emergency services and city departments are discussing; and business owners are taking notes for next year. You can count on the fact it will be an enormous amount of work that will be put into protecting the community and the financial boon that is St. Patrick’s for Savannah.
Michael Owens is the President/CEO of the Tourism Leadership Council. He can be reached at Michael@tourismleadershipcouncil.com or 912-232-1223.