Police, fire and volunteers lay out safety plan for River Run car show and tractor show

Chief Weidinger told the commission the city has coordinated with event organizers, volunteers and mutual-aid agencies to support two large September events: the River Run car show and the Power of the Past tractor show.

The plan includes early setup in Forest Park, a Friday concert and a Saturday cruise night downtown with street closures beginning around 3 p.m. and a target reopening by about 11 p.m. Volunteers and car-club staff will help direct parking and the car club contracts with a local tow service to assist vehicle removal when necessary. "This is the 2nd year of the change doing it 4 to 9 instead of 5 to 10," Weidinger said, describing a revised cruise-night schedule requested by the car club.

Public safety resources include a posted command trailer, EMS in-park during day hours, Franklin County Emergency Management support, bike and foot patrols, UTV teams and use of drone/UAS units for aerial monitoring to reduce on-the-ground staffing needs. Chief Weidinger said roughly 100 downtown volunteers help during cruise night and about 15 overnight VIP volunteers provide additional support. The presentation was informational; no commission action was required.