Police, SEPTA Prepare For GOP Retreat
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Security is intensifying near the Loews Hotel in Center City Philadelphia ahead of the Republican Retreat.
Cops in cars, on bikes and on foot, as well as steel barricades are plentiful. That will only intensify Thursday when President Trump arrives.
Carla Showell-Lee with SEPTA says as a result the 13th Street station on the Market-Frankford Line will be shut down all day Thursday. The agency has also ramped up security on trains and platforms.
"You will definitely see much more law enforcement that you usually would see," Showell-Lee said. "Of course, the Secret Service will be here. But SEPTA police have been working with the Philadelphia Police."
Riders who usually take 13th Street can use either 15th or 11th. There are a number of bus detours as well, with all the info posted on SEPTA's website.
"Situations like this are fluid," Showell-Lee said. "Things are constantly changing when you have a high-profile guest that comes to town."
For business owners in Center City, the Republican retreat means uncertainty.
"Our hours will be the same," says Tootsie Iovine, owner of Tootsie's at Reading Terminal Market. She also expects many of her regulars to eat lunch elsewhere.
