Downtown Cleveland is not quite the same place today as the Republican National Convention gets underway. Here's more on what to expect this morning if you’re heading downtown.
Many downtown exits and entrances from I-90 and I-77 are closed, so officials say commuters should take side streets if possible, or use RTA. Many downtown streets, including much of East 9th Street, are closed to traffic. And security fencing is lining many streets, making pedestrian access harder in some places. Michael Deemer of the Downtown Cleveland Alliance says there are also lots of new faces in town.
“About 15,000 media will be in town. East 4th Street in particular will look different than folks are accustomed to seeing with a lot of media presence along East 4th. There will be more restrictions on where cars can travel than folks are accustomed to seeing, particularly around Quicken Loans Arena and Progressive Field.”
Altogether, about 50,000 people are expected to attend the RNC which runs through Thursday.
