Security Perimeter Around Center City For Pope's Visit Not A Secret, It's Just Not Known
By Pat Loeb
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- So just how much of Center City Philadelphia will be off-limits during the Pope's visit? Despite anything you may have heard, the answer is nobody knows.
Parking Authority Deputy Director Richard Dickson found himself in hot water, this week, when a website reported that, while briefing his board on the papal visit, he said the "security perimeter" would extend from Girard Avenue to South Street and river to river.
A chagrined Dickson declined to comment, except to opine that it was probably the last bit of information about the visit he'd get.
But planners say Dickson didn't reveal any secrets, because the real secret is the boundaries haven't been set.
They've also taken to calling it a "traffic box" rather than security perimeter. That sounds much less scary doesn't it?
Secret Service spokesman Robert Hoback is traveling with the President in Africa, but confirms via email the "box" changes almost daily so there is no way to confirm its boundaries just yet.