New Jersey Prepares For Pope Francis

Pope Francis will be coming to Philadelphia in September. But the impact will be felt on both sides of the Delaware River as law enforcement, transportation and public safety agencies and public transit plan the logistics.

New Jersey will offer the following services - and take the following precautionary steps - for the World Meeting of Families Papal Mass on Friday, Sept. 25, and the Papal visit on Saturday, Sept. 26 and Sunday, Sept. 27:

• For the Papal mass on Friday, Sept. 25 at Madison Square Garden, NJ Transit plans to run extra trains to New York and add buses bound for the Port Authority Bus terminal, according to nj.com. No special ticketing is needed, and the state Department of Transportation will not close eastbound roads to New York for the papal visit there.
• With tens of thousands expected to walk, I-676 westbound from Exit 3 to the Ben Franklin Bridge and Route 30 westbound from Airport Circle to the bridge will be closed, as well as the span itself, from 10 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 25 until noon the following Monday, according to philly.com.
• NJ Transit will offer limited special service on its Atlantic City Rail Line and River Line for people attending. The service is limited in order to keep crowd numbers consistent with the maximum capacity that will be available.
• During the weekend of Sept. 26 and 27, NJ Transit regular tickets will not be accepted and the agency will not be operating regular weekend service on either the Atlantic City Rail Line or the River Line. Special tickets went on sale beginning Saturday, Aug. 15 for people planning to ride the Atlantic City Rail Line and River Line as the routes will only operate on a limited schedule on both days.
• Customers need to purchase their NJ Transit tickets in advance of this weekend. No one will be allowed to ride without a special event ticket and no tickets will be sold on Saturday, Sept. 26 or Sunday, Sept. 27. No other fares, including monthly passes, Family SuperSaver or cash, will be accepted on the Atlantic City Rail Line or River Line.
• NJ Transit customers traveling to the World Meeting of Families events and Papal event should expect long waits - particularly following the Papal ceremony on Sunday which could have people waiting for several hours. Customers are strongly encouraged to take advantage of some of the activities following the ceremony, which are being put in place by the World Meeting of Families to help meter the crowds.
• The Camden County Prosecutor’s Office is taking the lead as “incident command,” according to nj.com, but the Secret Service has been tasked with protecting the Pope, with help from the FBI and New Jersey State Police. Partnerships have also extended to Burlington, Gloucester and Salem counties in planning for emergency situations that could occur.
• Camden County police have been coordinating with The World Meeting of Families to accommodate for bus parking along the Delaware River waterfront. There will be enough space for approximately 1,100 buses, according to the nj.com report, but officials are not anticipating Camden providing a parking lot at this point.