The End of Freedom

"There are more instances of the abridgement of the freedom of the people by the gradual and silent encroachment of those in power, than by violent and sudden usurpation."
-- President James Madison. 1751-1836

"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."
-- Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790), Letter to Josiah Quincy, Sept. 11, 1773.

Posted on Tue, Mar. 30, 2004

How free should tourists roam? New security brings hope and hassles.

By Stephan Salisbury
Inquirer Staff Writer

Hordes of tourists at Independence Park responded to new security procedures yesterday with some bemusement - and some exasperation - as the park began its effort to funnel all visitors to the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall through one security facility on Market Street.

"It looks like a war zone," said Adrienne Reed, visiting from Seattle, as she surveyed a new maze of metal bike racks and security gates at the corner of Sixth and Chestnut Streets.

The corner was blanketed with uniformed park rangers, some with sidearms, and private security guards trying to direct pedestrians, park visitors and traffic.

One man, told to wait before crossing the street, became annoyed with a ranger.

"Do you have authority on this sidewalk?" asked the man, who was on the west side of Sixth Street, away from the park.

"Sir, just wait," the ranger replied.

"Do you have authority?" the man asked again.

By this point, the light had changed and the man huffed off.

"It's spooky," Reed said, surveying the scene. "This city is usually so friendly."

Her companion, Phil Klein, was concerned.

"Part of what we need to protect in America is openness," he said. "This looks like someone is trying to steal our independence. You don't protect your independence by locking it behind gates. That's not right."

Before yesterday, the park used two security screening sites: a tent behind Independence Hall and the old Liberty Bell Pavilion on Market Street. But about two weeks ago, park officials unveiled new procedures, which called for the city to bar left turns from Sixth onto Chestnut, to reconfigure traffic lights at the corner, and to have all park visitors pass through an enlarged security operation in the bell's pavilion. Once screened, visitors would be in a secure zone that included both the bell and hall.

The plan, which the park has characterized as a temporary "pilot program" responding to complaints over the two screening facilities, envisioned all visitors exiting the Liberty Bell Center and being escorted in quarantined packs across Chestnut Street.

Area residents and merchants expressed alarm at the idea, which many considered unworkable and others said appeared to mark a renewed effort to close Chestnut Street in front of the hall.

The city agreed to close Chestnut Street, at the park's request, after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. But merchants in the area suffered a dramatic falloff in business, and residents complained about diverted traffic and the welter of barricades blocking streets and sidewalks.

The city reopened Chestnut Street, over park objections, last year, and businesses have recovered somewhat, said U.S. Circuit Judge Edward Becker, who represents a local coalition of merchants and residents. But, Becker said, three businesses have closed down in the Chestnut Street block immediately west of Sixth Street.

Becker and others fear the new park program will further erode business prospects west of the park.

City officials balked last week at the park's requests and called for discussions all around. Park officials are talking, but have pressed ahead with plans.

"Things seemed to work well," park spokesman Phil Sheridan said yesterday afternoon. "It's a Monday, so it's relatively light. But that was part of the idea. We wanted to do it before... large numbers of visitors started up."

Sheridan said the program would proceed throughout the summer - peak visitation time for the park, which logs about three million visitors to the Liberty Bell annually.

At the corner of Sixth and Chestnut, crowds swelled and subsided during the day. But at times, when large park groups came through, rangers struggled with keeping pedestrians and visitors separated.

Cars have not been prohibited from making left turns onto Chestnut Street, but the Sixth Street sidewalk between Chestnut and Market has been closed by the park from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. So has the southeast corner of the Sixth and Chestnut intersection.

Throughout yesterday, innumerable pedestrians were shooed away from the east side of Sixth Street; more than a few were annoyed, and several walked in the street or crossed busy Sixth Street in midblock.

Park rangers asked every visitor exiting the Liberty Bell Center whether they wanted to leave the park or see the hall. Many visitors chose to leave. Some had no tickets for the hall; others said they had seen the hall already.

One Cherry Hill woman, visiting with her two children, said she had seen enough after the Liberty Bell. "I really don't want to deal with this anymore," she said, gesturing at the gates and the guards and the bollards and the reporters and camera crews. She gathered her children and whisked them away.

"Our challenge today," said the park's assistant superintendent Dennis Reidenbach, "is to ensure people can do this safely."

As he spoke, a man ignored all the street clutter and hurried across Sixth Street. Reidenbach sighed. "What do you do with people who pay no attention to red lights?" he said.