If the Chiefs win the Super Bowl on Sunday, not a lot of work is likely to get done around the city on Wednesday. Downtown businesses have been told to expect a Wednesday parade if the team beats the San Francisco 49ers, according to KCUR Radio.
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The last time Kansas Citians saw such a massive event was in 2015, when a crowd that official estimates said reached 800,000, turned out for the Royals World Series parade. The commission’s spokeswoman, Katherine Fox, told KCUR’s Up To Date program that the parade will be similar but not identical to the 2015 celebration.
“I think we learned a lot from the Royals parade,” Fox said. “We’ve been working very closely with the city and fire and police and EMT, just to make sure that if we do see the crowds that we’re expecting that we have some protocols in place to handle that.“
One of these protocols was opening a discussion with all stakeholders on what kind of safety precautions should be taken. Officials at Children’s Mercy Hospital near Union Station, where a Chiefs parade would likely end, says they’ve been preparing since the Chiefs won the AFC Championship two weeks ago.
Watch clips of the 2015 Royals parade
“We’ve had a group of people across the entire hospital meeting every single day and really thinking through all the things that we needed to be doing,” said Jodi Coombs, executive vice president and COO. “We have a really great plan and we have all the supplies that we need to give the care that we give today, just like we will on Wednesday.”
One of their main concerns is how to help families with appointments or surgeries navigate through the traffic. The hospital says they’ve worked to rearrange surgery schedules and clinic visits so no one is stuck in the crowds Wednesday. They have also made plans for patients and their families to be able to watch the parade.
Local schools are considering whether to close to allow students to attend the parade with their families. Two wild cards in plans, of course, are bad weather or a Chiefs loss on Sunday. A winter storm is expected Tuesday into Wednesday morning.
–Alan Goforth | Metro Voice
