Mayor Nutter Tours Papal Security Zone
By Walt Hunter and Pat Loeb
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Only the occasional siren from a police escort disturbed the quiet on what would normally be bustling Center City streets, jammed with cars and people at mid-morning. Anyone, going anywhere, was getting there on foot.
"This is what people mean by a walkable city," quipped Mayor Michael Nutter as he checked out the security effort along virtually deserted Market St. just west of City Hall.
Magnetometers and searches welcomed everyone trying to make their way through Center City streets between City Hall and the Art Museum. Fences and metal barricades lined almost every block.
"It was like the twilight zone," said Verna Swardalow who operates a Center City food truck.
For the most part, everything went smoothly at screening checkpoints, but for those who didn't carefully check traffic advisories, the drive to Center City was challenging, after they encountered one blocked off street after another.
Residents woke early to the sound of security barriers being put into place.
"We heard them moving the concrete barricades," John Pearce told CBS 3's Walt Hunter, explaining the security, which he appreciates, was not a problem.
The mayor noted a few barricades out of place that he said would be fixed, and he once again thanked Philadelphians and visitors for their help pulling this off.
"I can't even describe the personal and professional joy that we're about to experience."
After taking a quick walk along streets near his office, he told reporters the unprecedented security net, in the early going, worked well and he thanked officers for their work as well as the public for its patience.
