Lansdale Public Safety Looking to Mitigate Impact of Events on Citizens, Traffic

During the recent Mardi Gras Parade, one neighborhood along the Main Street route was trapped completely; no one could get in or out.
"We have to be cognizant of the impact our events have on citizens, public and traffic," Lansdale Police Chief Robert McDyre told the Lansdale Public Safety Committee this month. "At every event, we get complaints, but it's a part of it. As a group, let's do a better job to inform people and think about these routes." 
Thus, McDyre and the committee have begun to think of ways to do that, and it may start by signing up for, and requesting citizens sign up for, Nixle. Nixle is a mass notification system where subscribers are notified via email or text of important information from government agencies, businesses and enterprise organizations.
McDyre said the police and the committee will be reaching out to all involved, including event organizers.
"It's everybody that comes along. Everyone should think about, 'Let's mitigate the impact and be fair to people,'" he said. 
For instance, the police, McDyre said, often field complaints from commuters who are impacted when picking up family and friends from Lansdale train station in evens where Madison Street is closed. He said those drivers often stop at the train platform to pick somebody up, which is not the safest solution.
"Awareness is good," McDyre said. "We'll look into Nixle. It can blast out emails and we can encourage people to sign up." 
The key, however, according to public safety committee member and council Vice President Mary Fuller, is making sure the right people receive the alerts and then open them and read them.
There are still people daily, she said, who are unaware of longtime borough events.
"For instance, the day of the parade, somebody parked on my private property. They told me, 'All the roads are closed. There must be some parade or something.' This is a parade that has been going on for 63 years. So, people still aren't aware."  
McDyre said he will solicit input from the community on the best approach. 
One solution, which also poses a problem, is using temporary towable LED signs owned by Montgomery County in a borough that prohibits use of LED signage.
"It's a good idea to get a group together of those involved in events and talk it out," Fuller said.