Dogtown Wire

Courtesy John C. Jones

It’s been my privilege to know Pulaski County Bridge Facilities Board Chairman Billie Ann Myers since she was one of the first Arena Board appointees, and I have come to admire her calm thoughtfulness and her pluck over the years.

But I’m beginning to wonder if she, and the other members of the Bridge Board, put enough thought into the issue of crowding on the Junction Bridge.

True, they’ve placed a strict limit of 2,500 people for watching the upcoming Fourth of July fireworks display from that span. But that’s not the crowd the Bridge Board should be paying the closest attention to – rather, it should be the even bigger crowd that could pour onto the span after the display is over.

Having watched the Riverfest fireworks from the Little Rock side, I came back to North Little Rock via the Junction Bridge. Before I even reached the the stairwell on the south side, people who had just come across were uttering things like “Good luck” or “You’ll never make it” as they walked past.

That’s because, while a comparatively small flow of people were heading north, a river of humanity was trying to get back to Little Rock. Once I made it up the stairs and across the lift span, the view of the wall-to-wall crunch on the main span of the bridge just about took my breath away. Seriously, I’ve seen smaller herds of wildebeest on National Geographic specials.

And here was my first thought: “What happens if somebody has a heart attack in the middle of that? Or a fight breaks out?”

In fact, if there’d been an emergency of any nature, it would’ve been all but impossible for law enforcement or medical personnel to get anywhere near the middle of the crowd, from either end of the bridge, in any kind of a hurry.

I hate to sound alarmist, but when you’re dealing with thousands of people in a confined space, you have to be prepared for a worst-case scenario. And having four security guards on the bridge for July 4 (the number cited by Myers in a June 19 article in the statewide daily paper) isn’t going to do the trick, especially if they’re distributed in the same way as the guards I saw at the close of Riverfest – one at each elevator door, monitoring the number of people who got aboard. That’s four right there.

And then there’s simply the issue of traffic control – specifically, there was none at Riverfest. The relatively small trickle of people headed north had to squeeze, single-file, along the rail to get through the throngs of Little Rock-bound revelers. And far, far too many people headed south were trying, at the last second, to cram into line for the elevator.

Fortunately, it seems to me that the solution to both of these issues is fairly simple.

Firstly, set up a security station with several officers and a couple of paramedics in front of the elevator shaft where the main span of the bridge meets the lift span, and hang a banner above them that says in nice, big letters “SECURITY/EMT” or preferably “POLICE/EMT.” That will both comfort those worried about the crowds and provide disincentive to anyone inclined to make mischief. A few more guards should be scattered along the main span, with one on the lift span and one on the Little Rock landing. Given that both Little Rock and North Little Rock police will be patrolling during the event, the Bridge Board ought to contact both agencies about providing a couple of officers for this duty, with MEMS or the North Little Rock Fire Department providing the medical personnel.

As for crowd control, again the major issue is along the main span. That should be divided into three lanes. Mark off a four- or five-foot-wide corridor along the western rail for the northbound pedestrians. Then divide the remainder of the bridge in half, with the center portion for those taking the stairs and the east side for those taking the elevator. All three lanes should be marked clearly, and some consideration ought to be giving to restricting elevator use to those with strollers or small children, people with disabilities and the elderly – at least until the bulk of the crowd has dispersed.

As for marking those lanes, no need to buy any fancy barriers. Just line up some orange traffic cones, about 10 feet apart, stick a tomato stake in each one and run police tape along the tops of the stakes. Put signs at the entrance to each lane. Folks will get the concept pretty quickly.

Granted, it’s unlikely the Independence Day crowds will rival those of Riverfest, and it’s possible that the folks who live in Little Rock will be satisfied with watching the July 4 display from their side of the river, meaning fewer people will head for the bridge from the North Shore Riverwalk when all is said and done. 

But even if that is the case, next year at the close of Riverfest the same problem will crop up again.  I’d like to think the Bridge Board will have a good plan in place by then.

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