Managing Papal Expectations

2014

Nov. 17: Pope Francis announces that he will visit Philadelphia on Sept. 26 and 27, 2015, following the World Meeting of Families.

2015

June 16: Calling the pope's visit "the largest event in the city of Philadelphia in modern history," Mayor Nutter and transit officials announce plans for dealing with the crush of people expected to visit Philadelphia. SEPTA pledges to double capacity, but will only operate 31 of its 282 stations. On Regional Rail, special passes that are to be sold online will be the only fare accepted. Nutter advises attendees to "be prepared to walk a few miles or more."

July 9: Nutter says people speculating that all of Center City will be shut down behind a chain-link fence have "no idea what they're talking about," but that some fencing will go up in parts of the city. "Fencing is not a new concept in this city," he says.

July 20: An electronic stampede crashes SEPTA's website for selling Regional Rail papal passes within minutes of its opening.

July 27: Unofficial maps begin circulating on the Internet showing a huge swatch of Center City closed to traffic, including one showing an area "patrolled by pterodactyls" and ringed by a "hot lava zone."

July 29: SEPTA announces it will try again to sell Regional Rail passes through a one-day lottery Aug. 3.

July 30: The Secret Service issues a news release saying it has not ordered businesses to close and did not dictate that SEPTA limit rail service during the papal weekend.

July 31: SEPTA says it had no choice but to close stations rather than comply with unworkable security rules.

Aug. 2: John Hanson, chairman of the Delaware River Port Authority, says it can't decide whether to close the Benjamin Franklin Bridge for the papal visit without more information from the Secret Service.

Aug. 5: Nutter announces unprecedented measures to control crowds and traffic, including closing the Benjamin Franklin Bridge and lengthy sections of the Schuylkill Expressway. He also introduces the "traffic box," a 4.7-square-mile zone in Center City and West Philadelphia that will be off-limits to incoming traffic. Nutter describes the papal visit as a "joyful public event" and tells citizens to "just plan."

Aug. 13: New Jersey officials issue dire advisories for those wanting to attend the papal events, estimating the walk across the Ben Franklin Bridge to the Parkway could take three to four hours. "If you are not prepared to walk a significant distance, you may want to re-evaluate whether in fact you want to go to this event," Transportation Commissioner Jamie Fox says.

Later that day, Nutter announces two additional security perimeters, the innermost of which will require people to be screened by airport-style magnetometers. He also outlines closures around the papal weekend of city schools and courts, and adds that City Hall will be open only to essential-services staff. "By Friday, make sure you've taken care of your critical business, that you've gotten your groceries, filled your prescriptions, and gotten done what you need to ahead of a very busy weekend," Nutter said.

Aug. 18: The general manager of Reading Terminal Market meets with city officials, saying he may be forced to close the venue on the papal weekend if security measures block deliveries of food, and employees getting to their jobs.

Aug. 26: World Meeting of Families executive director Donna Crilley Farrell rebrands the traffic box as the "Francis Festival grounds." The group begins distributing "I'll Be There!" buttons for those pledging to attend, and "Open in PHL" kits to business pledging to remain open, now including the Reading Terminal Market.

Aug. 27: SEPTA announces that about 200,000 out of 350,000 Regional Rail passes remain unsold and urges customers to purchase passes at ticket offices. "We have a lot of capacity on all of our service," says SEPTA general manager Joseph Casey.

- The Philadelphia Inquirer