PHILADELPHIA ALA BEST PRACTICES 2015 PAPAL VISIT

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1 A group of administrators and business partners met on Wednesday, July 15 to discuss the upcoming Papal visit to Philadelphia. They identified issues and concerns and developed what they believe to be Best Practices. Remember that these issues and action steps are fluid. We are providing the most up-to-date information we have on a weekly basis, with new postings each Monday. In the meantime, visit which is the official website for this event. Mayor Nutter s press releases are available within 24 hours; see The City has also established a Papal Visit Business Resource Center with the latest news updates at Business-related FAQs can be found here. A hotline ( ) for direct inquiries is available Mondays through Fridays between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. inquiries should be directed to business@phila.gov. A Papal Playbook, geared toward City residents, is available here. Issues and Action Steps: Security. The Secret Service is providing security for the entire event. Fencing will be erected to cover the red zones on the maps found on the last page of this document on Thursday, September 24 at 10 p.m. Every person and their belongings will be searched before entering the red zones. Everyone should carry as little as possible and allow plenty of time to get through security. Magnetometers will be in place beginning Friday, September 25 at 6 a.m., covering the following areas (generally Independence Mall, City Hall, Suburban Station, Logan Square and the entire Parkway): Walnut through Commerce between 4 th and 5 th Walnut through Race between 5 th and 7 th East Side of City Hall Chestnut through Arch between Broad and 15 th Chestnut through Cherry between 15 th and 16 th Market through Race between 16 th and 17 th Arch through Vine between 17 th and 18 th Cherry through Wood between 18 th and 19 th Race through Wood between 19 th and 20 th Race through Callowhill between 20 th and 21 st These areas include the Security Perimeter (red lines on maps). The Secure Vehicle Zone (black lines on maps) indicates a perimeter where no vehicles will be permitted to enter beginning 6 a.m. Friday, September v1 Page 1

2 Mass Transit. We cannot predict how much impact visitors will have on our transit system during the week of or week after the World Meeting of Families. Important: To date, most area train alterations affect the Saturday, September 26 through Sunday, September 27 schedules; however, Mayor Nutter s August 20 press release states: SEPTA The Secure Perimeter (the red line) and the Secure Vehicle Perimeter (the black line) both will be constructed and maintained by the Secret Service. During the time that the Secret Service is erecting these barriers (this means beginning at 10:00 p.m. Thursday evening), SEPTA will be: Running Regional Rail Lines on a weekend schedule with all stations active EXCEPT Suburban Station at 16 th & JFK Running subways as normal with all stations active EXCEPT 15 th Street and City Hall Stations Running all West Philly Trolley Lines as normal with all stations active EXCEPT 15 th Street. The above applies from 10 p.m. Thursday evening through the end of Friday. The special Papal passes are NOT required on the Regional Rail trains during this period. A few of you have reported hearing that SEPTA will be running a weekend schedule on Monday, September 28. We cannot confirm this information. If anything, SEPTA reports increasing trains while the Pope is here. SEPTA has announced that they will be selling three-day passes (Saturday Monday) for bus, subway and trolley riders, but that the pass is not necessary: Three-day transit passes will be made available for travel on all SEPTA subways, buses and trolleys from Saturday, September 26 through Monday, September 28. Passes will cost $10 and go on sale in mid-august. Customers will also be able to use tokens, transfers and weekly and monthly passes on subways, buses and trolleys during this time v1 Page 2

3 Everyone should monitor the SEPTA and PATCO websites for ticket information: and According to Amtrak, starting Friday, September 25 through Monday, September 28, reservations will be required on all Acela Express, Northeast Regional and Keystone Service trains. Also, it was reported to us in mid-august that the Amtrak station in Wilmington had already sold 30,000 round-trip tickets to Philadelphia for Saturday, September 26 and Sunday, September 27. See (August 21 press release) and Travel by Car. From Monday, September 22, through Monday, September 28, expect major delays in all modes of travel. No one should attempt to drive into the City beginning Friday, September 25 at 6 p.m. (only vehicles already within the security perimeter will be permitted to exit). The ban on driving in the City is expected to be lifted sometime on Monday, September 28. The Ben Franklin Bridge will be open to pedestrians only beginning Friday, September 25 at 10 p.m. through Monday, September 28 at Noon. Friday, September 25, will be a very congested day. At this time, we recommend that you consider closing your Philadelphia offices on Friday, September 25. Treat it like a snow day. Notify all your employees and business associates to allow for extra time to commute into and around Philadelphia. Keep client meetings to a minimum. Detailed City road closures are as follows: Thursday o At 10:00 p.m. the Secure Perimeter (red line on map) around Ben Franklin Parkway and Secure Vehicle Perimeter (black line on map) will go into effect. Friday o At 6:00 am the Secure Perimeter (red line on map) from 12th Street west until 20th Street will be open to screened pedestrians only, no vehicles allowed in the Secure Vehicle Perimeter (black line on map). o At 8:00 a.m. the Authorized Vehicle Access Roads (yellow line on map) will go into effect. o At 6:00 p.m. the Traffic Box in Center City (green line on map) will go into effect v1 Page 3

4 o At 10:00 p.m. the Secure Perimeter (red line on map) around Independence Hall and Secure Vehicle Perimeter (black line on map) will go into effect. The Traffic Box in University City (green line on map) will also go into effect. Saturday o Taxis will be able to move in and out of the Traffic Box until 2 a.m. on Saturday morning, Sept. 26. o At 6:00 a.m. the Secure Perimeters (red lines on map) for the Benjamin Franklin Parkway from 20th street west to the Art Museum, and the Independence Hall area, will open to ticketed and screened pedestrians. Sunday o There will be no screening for pedestrians at Independence Hall, but the perimeters will remain in place for the duration of the event, meaning no vehicles in the Secure Perimeter and Secure Vehicle Perimeter through Sunday night. The Secure Perimeter from the Art Museum to 12th Street will remain in place for the Papal Mass. Monday o Starting at 3 am, we will have taxi stands in the Traffic Box to service people needing to get to the Airport for early flights. The locations of these stands will be posted in the days to come on the city website along with other information. The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation will close the following roads beginning on Friday, September 25 at 10 p.m. (no word yet on when they will reopen): o I-76 eastbound from I-476 to I-95 and I-76 westbound from I-95 to U.S. Route 1 (Roosevelt Extension); o I-676 in both directions from I-76 to I-95; and o U.S. Route 1 in both directions from U.S. 30 to Belmont Avenue. Contrary to previous reports, I-95 will remain open to traffic with only selected ramps closed due to street closures within the City and security needs. Internet & Wi-Fi. Expect your Internet providers to be overloaded. Yes, they re planning for this influx of people, but still expect to have delays and outages. Communicate to all employees to use v1 Page 4

5 the Internet for business use only. This lapse in service will be more prevalent with national providers (Comcast, Verizon) and less of an issue with local providers such as Cogent. Please stay off of Facebook, YouTube, streaming video or other non-business related sites. Make sure your IT departments do not plan for upgrades or updates to your network. Cell Phone Service. Expect your cell phone and landline service to be spotty. Again, providers are planning for the increased demand, but expect issues. Communicate to all employees to use cell phones only when needed. Again, while at work, try to refrain from accessing non-workrelated sites. Deliveries and other scheduled activities. There will be numerous buses of people visiting Philadelphia during this week. If you have any deliveries, be sure to schedule them accordingly (see Building Closures). Also, if you need couriers, try not to schedule for September 25. Check your payroll schedule. Make sure that you are in compliance with DOL deadlines if there is a problem with your mode of communication. Court Closures. While there has been no report as of now on whether federal courts will follow suit, the Mayor has announced that the First Judicial District (municipal, common pleas, orphans, civil and criminal court operations) will all be shut down for four business days for the Papal visit beginning Wednesday, September 25 through Monday, September 28. The FJD s August 7 administrative order with regard to filings, emergencies, etc. that week is available here. School Closures. Both public and Catholic schools will be closed Wednesday, September 23 through Friday, September 25. While public schools are waiting to make a decision about Monday, September 28, some charter schools will be closed on Monday, September 28 and, thus far, some Catholic schools are reported to be closed on Monday, September 28. Remember that Yom Kippur begins at sundown on Tuesday, September 22, so some of your employees may choose not to report to work on Wednesday, September 23. University-College Closures. CCP s Friday, September 25 and Saturday, September 26 classes are cancelled. Drexel will not hold classes between Friday, September 25 and Sunday, September 27. Penn s and Temple s Friday, September 25 classes are cancelled. Rutgers-Camden will suspend classes beginning Thursday evening, September 24 and will resume Monday, September 28 at 12:30 p.m. Phone Greetings - Websites. It may be helpful for your organization to modify voice mail messages and post a notice on your website as to your availability on Friday, September v1 Page 5

6 Building Closures. For those who lease space, if your building is not listed here, you should check to see if the management company is limiting access to tenants and deliveries, not only to your building, but any attached parking garages. Communicate to your attorneys and employees not to schedule depositions for, at a minimum, Friday, September 25, or schedule in another city. Comprise a group of people who may live in the City to be on a skeletal staff if necessary. Cleaning schedules may also be disrupted. The City has announced that trash pickup is suspended between Friday, September 24 and Monday, September 28. One Liberty Place (1650 Market) - On Friday, September 25, the janitorial crew will arrive earlier in the day to clean the building. For building deliveries, we are recommending for the tenants to coordinate deliveries by Thursday, September 24. Three Logan Square (1717 Arch) - Access to the Parking Garage and Loading Dock will be closed starting Thursday, September 24 at 10 p.m. and will remain closed until the early morning hours of Monday, September 28. However, Three Logan Square building will remain open. Centre Square (1500 Market) - 1) The Building will be closed to the tenants and the public as of the end of business (7:00 P.M.), Thursday night through Sunday. Following this closure, only essential personnel, approved in writing, in advance, will be allowed in the building during this closure time. 2) The Parking Garage will be closed to the public the week of Monday, September 21 through Sunday, September 27. We will only allow monthly parkers into the garage and pre-purchased validations from Monday thru Thursday night. The parking garage will close to ALL parkers as of Thursday night thru Monday morning, but we will allow written, preauthorized monthly parkers to leave their vehicles in the garage over the Papal visit understanding that they will not be able to access or move their vehicles from Thursday night thru Monday morning. LAZ Parking will put up signage at least a week before the events and work with any monthly parker choosing to leave their vehicle in the garage over the Papal visit weekend. 3) The City of Philadelphia and the Secret Service have advised us that they will erect fencing closing off our parking garage and Ranstead Street to the public as of Thursday night. In addition and as a precaution to protect the property and control access, we plan on erecting our own fence inside of the Secret Service fenced area to block access to the Market Street Main Entrance Plaza, including the steps down to the concourse as this area will be closed for the Papal Visit. This fencing will be erected Thursday afternoon but we will allow our tenants and patrons to exit the building as they do normally. We will officially close off the main Market Street and concourse sometime after rush hour, Thursday night. We will reopen and remove the fencing as soon as the City allows for traffic back into the City. We have also been advised that all deliveries to the building should be completed by Wednesday night. 4) As soon as the Plaza fencing is in place, sometime Thursday night v1 Page 6

7 after rush hour, our main and only entrance during the building closure will be the 16 th Street entrance. We will have a guard stationed at the entrance, checking off anyone on the preapproved essential personnel access list and allowing access. The Secret Service will have an Agent or Police Officer stationed outside our 16 th Street Entrance as well, who will scan with a metal detector anyone exiting our building during the Papal visit. Because of the Secret Service and City mandated traffic and transit restrictions, we will have a limited staff (Security and Engineering) in the building and will maintain this limited staff throughout the entire Papal visit weekend. We can discuss further and will work with any tenant needing pre-approved essential personnel in the building. Other Closures. At least during the weekend of the Pope s visit, the following City institutions will be closed: Academy of Natural Sciences, Eastern State Penitentiary, the Franklin Institute, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Philadelphia Zoo, and the Rodin. Firms with definitive schedules as of September 4 Philadelphia offices only. If you are out of the red zone, you may have more options. (Note: if you have decided on an office closure or other schedule, please send to Judy Stouffer at mailto:jstouffer@bkwfamily.com): Bennett Bricklin (1601 Market red zone) Flexible schedules Monday - Thursday; Closed Friday, 09/25 Berner Klaw (1528 Walnut) Flexible schedules as needed surrounding WMF; Physical office Closed Friday, 09/25, with everyone expected to work from home or PTO; Employees who live in NJ will work in the NJ office or from home on Monday, 09/28 Buchanan Ingersoll (50 S. 16 th red zone) Closed Friday, 09/25 [Any delayed opening or closing on Monday will be addressed as we get closer to the date.] Cohen Seglias (30 S. 17 th ) Closed Friday, 09/25 [We are encouraging our salaried people to work remotely on that day, but have no expectation that our hourly staff will be working at all that day.] Conrad O Brien (1500 Market red zone) Closed Friday, 09/25 [Employees are expected to be available to work remotely if needed and take PTO if unavailable.] Console Law (1525 Locust) Closed Friday, 09/25 Cozen O Connor (1650 Market red zone) Closed Friday, 09/25 [monitoring updates re: Monday] Freiwald Law (1500 Walnut) Closed Friday, 09/25 [with everyone having remote access to work from home (which we already have in place)] German Gallagher (200 S. Broad) Staff can change schedules Monday Thursday; Closed Friday, 09/25 [Re Monday: we are going to continue to monitor the updates and make a decision as we get closer.] Griesing Law (1717 Arch red zone) Flexible schedules Monday - Thursday; Closed Friday, 09/25; staff with remote access are to work from home Monday, 09/ v1 Page 7

8 Manko Gold (200 S. Broad) Closed Friday, 09/25 Mintzer Sarowitz (1500 Market red zone) Closed Friday, 09/25 [We are waiting for the city and/or our building to determine about Monday and we will go from that.] Obermayer (1617 JFK red zone) Closed Friday, 09/25 Ogletree Deakins (1735 Market) Closed Friday, 09/25 Philadelphia VIP (1500 Walnut) Closed Friday, 09/25 and Monday, 09/28 Saltz Mongeluzzi (1650 Market red zone) Closed Friday, 09/25 Weir & Partners (1339 Chestnut Secret Service using this building as staging area) Closed Friday, 09/25 Here are some additional, recent links you may find useful: Visit?slreturn= Closing-for-Papal-Visit?slreturn= ml perimeter-map.html?ana=e_du_pub&s=article_du&ed= &u=mhqEzui5aoz1tu5jK0a2jnfnzMf&t= v1 Page 8

9 Special thank you to: Martha Keen, Mintzer Sarowitz Zeris Ledva & Meyers LLP Judy Stouffer, Berner Klaw & Watson LLP Rose O Drain, Cozen & O Connor Felice Pandola, Buchanan Ingersoll, PC Robyn Henry, Conrad O Brien Kathy Reilly, Golkow Carmela Ginsberg, Berger & Montague, P.C. Jessica Mazzeo, Griesing Law LLC Jack Caulk, MCS v1 Page 9

10 Secure Perimeter Map: v1 Page 10