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The threat to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Peachtree Road Race and other Independence Day events in Atlanta is more likely to come from Mother Nature than security risks. Still expect to see a record police presence if you go.
There have been months of planning by local, state and federal law enforcement agencies who tried to consider every imaginable attack on the metro area during 44th running of what is billed as “the world’s largest 10K running event.” Authorities said the April bombings at the Boston Marathon on Patriots’ Day was at the forefront of their planning.
All leave has been cancelled for Atlanta and MARTA police, who will be working extended shifts, and uniformed and plainsclothes officers will be stationed along the route as well while other officers running the race will also monitoring the crowd.
Some 2,700 cameras along the road race route and around the locations for fireworks shows allow authorities to watch the crowds.
Backpacks and other bags will be searched before they can be brought into Piedmont Park, where the road race ends.
Police will conduct “ongoing” sweeps with K-9 units up until the race begins, according to Atlanta Police Department Deputy Chief Renee Propes. She said officers would be posted overnight along the race route “to ensure nothing suspicious enters the route and that all the manhole covers remain secure. Before the race begins we’ll conduct a final explosive detection sweep as we deploy all of our resources for the actual race.”
While most of the questions about safety has been focused on the race, APD said they also have increased security for the Braves baseball game Thursday night and at fireworks displays at Lenox Square Mall and Centennial Olympic park. Other state and local police agencies are increasing vigilance at various other holiday events like at Stone Mountain Park and at smaller communities that have not yet rescheduled because of the weather.
The FBI said Wednesday there were no “credible” terror threats to the metro area.
MARTA Police Chief Wanda Dunham said her entire force plus office workers will be at the train stations as well as on the trains and buses. The 14 teams of bomb-sniffing dogs and their handlers will patrol the system.
“That’s a key factor for us to have those dogs as an asset,” Dunham said.
The Atlanta Track Club, which manages the race, has a flag system in place to warn runners about risks, mostly weather issues.
Flags posted at the beginning and end of the race and along the route will tell runners about conditions, mostly weather. Green is the lowest and indicates conditions are perfect. Yellow means “conditions are less than favorable” and runners should slow down and look for “worsening conditions.” Red flags warn runners of “potentially dangerous conditions” and they should consider slowing down or stopping. A black indicates “extremely dangerous conditions” and the event has been cancelled.
Last year’s race began with yellow flags but midway they were replaced with red because of the heat.
This year, the day is to begin with temperatures in the upper 60s or the 70s so heat will not be a factor.
Rain, predicted flooding and possible lightening, however, prompted the Track Club to put conditions at yellow, or moderate.
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