During Monday’s City Council meeting, leaders from several City of Atlanta departments presented on how their agency is prepared.
ATLANTA — From roads to policing, the Atlanta City Council heard from several agencies Monday evening about how they’re preparing for the World Cup.
The matches are quickly approaching, with the first game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium less than two months away.
Councilmember Kelsea Bond joined community members today who expressed concerns with the cities readiness. Bond wants to see more of an emphasis on policing alternatives during the games.
“We’re getting a lot of grant money for police overtime and surveillance during the games, but we are not seeing PAD or diversion services brought to the table in that same way, and that is exactly what we’re advocating for today,” Bond said.
Representatives from several city departments told the City Council Atlanta is ready. On safety, Atlanta Police said the main things they are planning for are terror attacks, protests, and fan marches. Officers will be in new uniforms meant to make them more visible, and Chief Darin Schierbaum said more than 200 officers will come in to assist from outside agencies.
For months, the firefighters’ union has expressed concerns about trucks being out of service. Councilmember Antonio Lewis asked if the department will have enough equipment during the World Cup.
“Right now we’re working with fleet for the repairs for certain equipment, and also we have five brand new apparatus that have been guaranteed to have in the city next month, so yes, we will be covered, we will be staffed at that time,” said AFRD First Deputy Chief James McLemore.
Just like players get in their practice before the big game, Atlanta’s Chief Operating Officer, LaChandra Burks said agencies like MARTA, APD, and GDOT got in their practice too, implementing the FIFA mobility plan when the U.S. Men’s National Team played at Mercedes-Benz a few weeks ago.
“We had everything going in full force on that day, and we have had a debrief, taken some lessons learned, and feel like we’re ready for June 15th as a result of that,” Burks said.
Councilmembers also asked is how the city will handle 311 during the games, which does not run on weekends. The City said it will have ATL311 available for Atlanta’s two weekend matches.
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