Franklin Street Prepares for Victory!

The Tar Heels will face the Kansas Jayhawks on Saturday night at 8:47 P.M. and downtown Chapel Hill is battening down the hatches in hopes for a Final Four victory! However, many downtown businesses do not welcome the victory celebration that ensues after a big Tar Heel win. 

There is a lot of preperation and precaution when preparing for a big win.  Franklin Street customers are not welcome to drive to downtown busineses on the evenings of a big game which hurts business on game day.

The police department will close down Franklin Street between Mallete and Columbia Streets if the Tar Heels win.  No matter what, there will be no parking on the street after 3:30 pm and all cars remaining in the area will be towed after 7:00 P.M.

For those readers who may not be familiar with the reasoning behind such drastic measures when the Tar Heels play a big game—you have to watch what could be to come Saturday night.  For those that know, enjoy and hopefully I’ll see you in the crowd on Saturday night.

 The Town of Chapel Hill has issued a formal notification about the Final Four and has set out plans for the street celebrations following aUNC victory.  The Chapel Hill police have issued the following tips for a safe celebration: “don’t drive downtown” and “batten down the hatches.”  The Town of Chapel Hill has made the following requirements/ recommendations for downtown businesses:  

• If your establishment sells paint, please restrict sale of CAROLINA blue paint for the next week. 
• No alcoholic beverages will be allowed in the closed area. This restriction is authorized by a Town ordinance making it unlawful to possess alcoholic beverages on streets, sidewalks, parking lots, and alleys within the closed area. 
• Discourage employees and customers, from parking in North Alley and South Alley.  When the streets close, vehicles parked in these alleys will not have access to the street to leave. 
• If your establishment sells alcohol, please restrict all servings to paper or plastic cups and all bulk sales should be in cans so that we can keep glass out of the area.
• If your establishment has an awning or any removable signs, we recommend removing or securing them in order to keep them from being damaged.  
• If possible, ensure that interior and exterior rooftop doors are secure to keep people off the roof.   
• Many businesses keep extra staff on the premises during celebrations to prevent or report problems.  Make sure that the Orange County Communications Center  (919) 933-2600  has an up-to-date emergency call back number.

 So come on Heels… let’s not have done all this planning in vain.  Bring us home a Final Four victory and a trip to the championship!   GO HEELS!