RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — Glenwood South in Raleigh on Friday night was the start to another potentially busy weekend.
While many visiting the area look forward to enjoying their weekend there, Raleigh Police Chief Estella Patterson is looking forward to changes to help keep people safe.
“I want to make clear that my desire is vibrancy over catastrophe. We don’t want the area to be catastrophic. I want people to enjoy going out to Glenwood South,” she said during Tuesday’s city council meeting.
Earlier this week, Patterson spoke in front of the city council. On any given weekend she said about 12,000 people cram into bars and restaurants.
“This past weekend we had a stabbing,” she said.
In all, she said the large crowds, violence, traffic, and noise complaints have been big issues.
So, here’s what Raleigh police and city leaders want to do about it.
One goal is to have businesses install metal detectors at their entrances. Police said Tuesday that there were 64 concealed weapon violations over the past nine months, compared to 15 from June 2019 to March 2020.
Also, the plan is to address the traffic.
A CBS 17 news crew was on Glenwood Avenue throughout the night Friday and noticed the increase in traffic.
“My concern is emergency vehicles. With all the traffic we see oftentimes, it’s just people cruising,” Patterson said.
The news crew also spotted police officers in both patrol cars and on horseback.
“At some point truly, we might have a national incident and I don’t want that by any level,” said Patterson.
Patterson said she wants to make it easier for officers to enforce rules.
The city attorney and police attorney are checking to see if they can legally require business owners to install the metal detectors.