City of Biloxi alters Cruisin’ the Coast preparations
After an officer and four citizens were shot during spring break, the City of Biloxi decided to crack down on how special events would be conducted.
They were met with conflict as organizations like Cruisin’ the Coast were preparing for upcoming events.
Biloxi is preparing for another special event after one in April ended in gunfire. Despite that, Director Woody Bailey tells us Cruisin’ the Coast is ready to roll out. “We’re planning on a great Cruisin’ the Coast this year. Things are full steam ahead. Everything is getting started this Sunday, October 1st. All those staples and things that people enjoy are all going to be there.”
The city council is considering changes to special event ordinances after spring break showed that the city did not have enough first responders to handle the influx of tourism.
Biloxi Police Chief John Miller tells us the police are in a better position today than they were in April. “Staffing issues is something that’s nationwide with law enforcement right now. We have improved a bit, but it’s because our recruiting team has really worked hard. We asked officers from out of town to come down and work with us. We do that for a lot of events. We’ve had some success there with getting folks down to help us out.”
The Biloxi Police Department has added about 20 police officers since spring break, but they’re still working to improve response time in the event of an emergency. “If traffic reaches that point. Where it’s so thick that officers and emergency vehicles can’t get around., we will go to one lane – one safety lane. Without that lane, without those cones, we would not be able to respond where we need to respond.”
Anyone seen in the emergency lane will find blue lights right behind them.
The city decided not to rush the revised ordinances, but there may be changes next year.
Cruisin’ the Coast begins Sunday and ends October 8th.
