Golden Makes Safety Changes In Light Of Wisconsin Holiday Parade Tragedy
GOLDEN, Colo. (CBS4) - The holiday parade tragedy in Wisconsin comes as cities across Colorado prepare for their own parades and festivals. Not surprisingly, city leaders and event planners are looking over their own safety protocols.
In Golden, the city is gearing up for its annual Olde Golden Holiday Parade along Washington Avenue on Dec. 11. Following the events in Waukesha, hearts are heavy.
"It's just really tragic," said Chris Solomon, a father of three who was visiting Golden on Monday. "Families are just trying to go out and enjoy the season and spend time together."
All the more reason why Golden's holiday event organizers are taking a closer look at their plans to keep people safe. Not only for the upcoming parade, but a pair of other holiday events – the Candlelight Walk on Dec. 3 and Jingle on the Avenue on Dec. 18.
"You never want to think that it could happen in your community," said Emily Gedeon, Communications Director for the City of Golden. "It made us really double down on all our safety measures."
Along with training city staff and event volunteers on how to respond to an emergency, Gedeon said Golden's city streets team will use a dozen trucks and heavy equipment to block all intersections and parade entry points.
"It's really to create a more substantial barrier for the parade route," she told CBS4's Kelly Werthmann. "It helps with traffic flow and protection and safety."
Gedeon explained the large trucks are typically used only at the annual parade. Now, they'll be a standard safety measure at all outdoor holiday celebrations.
"The fire chief, police department and city streets team automatically saw the news last night and said we are going to have our streets team out for every event," she said.
Safety has always been a priority, Gedeon added, and these extra steps will hopefully prevent such a tragedy in Colorado.
"I think the gravity of what happened last night and the tragedy made it all the more important for communities like ours to have good safety plans," Gedeon said.
