San Juan lays out security & logistics plan for San Sebastián Street Festival

“This plan is not improvised; it is the result of months of work, coordination between agencies, and a team of dedicated individuals committed to serving their city well and doing things correctly,” San Juan Mayor Miguel Romero Lugo said.

By THE STAR STAFF

San Juan Mayor Miguel Romero Lugo on Sunday presented the municipal plan that will be in place for the 56th edition of the San Sebastián Street Festival, which will be held starting this Thursday and running through Sunday in Old San Juan.

“The San Sebastián Street Festival is the most important cultural expression of our capital city, of all of Puerto Rico, and the largest in the Caribbean. Precisely for this reason, it represents an enormous responsibility for the municipal government,” Romero Lugo said in a written statement. “Our obligation is that every person who comes to Old San Juan can enjoy themselves peacefully, in an orderly manner, and with adequate services, with the certainty that a fully prepared municipality is behind every detail. This plan is not improvised; it is the result of months of work, coordination between agencies, and a team of dedicated individuals committed to serving their city well and doing things correctly.”

The main venues with artistic and cultural programming will be the Plaza del Quinto Centenario, Plaza Colón, Plaza de la Barandilla and the Alejandro Tapia y Rivera Theater. The closing times will be as follows: stages close at 11 p.m., kiosks close at 12 midnight, and businesses close at 1 a.m.

As part of the accessibility component, the Municipality of San Juan will provide sign language interpreters for the deaf community, available at tourist information centers, medical service stations, and with the Municipal Police.

The security component will include 600 municipal police officers (440 equipped with body cameras), 400 private security officers, and 400 commonwealth police officers, all working 12-hour shifts on public order duties, property surveillance, stage security, traffic control and public transportation stations.

In addition, 25 Tower Cams will be employed, adding to the 198 fixed cameras, 98 rented cameras, and bodycams, for a total of more than 800 active cameras during the event. There will also be five drones, 10 call boxes, and artificial intelligence systems for operational support and locating missing children.

Twenty metal detectors will be installed at the transit centers. The Automatic License Plate Recognition System will also be implemented to identify vehicles of interest, stolen vehicles or those with irregularities.

The public transportation system will include 170 buses, departing from Sagrado Corazón and Hiram Bithorn Stadium to Old San Juan. It will operate Thursday and Friday from 2 p.m. to 2 a.m., and Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 2 a.m. The cost will be $5 round trip.

In addition, ferries from Cataño will operate with three vessels and extended hours. The Urban Train will operate from 5:30 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. with nighttime service to Bayamón. There will also be public bus routes with extended hours and collaboration with the taxi system.

The Municipal Health Department will have a team of 142 employees comprising 72 nurses, 28 doctors and 41 support professionals, organized into 12-hour shifts at stations located in the San Juan Museum, the School of Plastic Arts, the Alejandro Tapia y Rivera Theater, the National Guard, and Plaza de Armas. There will also be Mobile Units from the Capital Health System at various points throughout the event.