Louisville Metro Police and other agencies have made plans for addressing potential traffic and crime issues stemming from Friday night's NCAA Tournament showdown between the Kentucky Wildcats and the Louisville Cardinals.Police have issued details of its details. They include "multiple roving units" meant to patrol possible criminal activity following the game, plus traffic enforcement in case of cruising. Police plan to allow traffic to move through the areas they're concentrating on, unless a public safety risk is found.Authorities said they'll focus on:
- Broadway from First Street to 28th Street
- Broadway from 28th Street to Southwestern Parkway
- The Waterfront, Downtown Business District, Fourth Street Live and the Bardstown Road/Baxter Avenue corridor
- The University of Louisville's Belknap campus
Louisville Metro Police will help UofL's campus police in the parts surrounding the campus, LMPD said. Road closures are possible at UofL. Following last year's national championship, fans and students congregated on Cardinal Boulevard at the Cardinal Towne development.The game comes as the city is on heightened concerns about public safety after hundreds of teens committed a series of violent acts through downtown Louisville.The incidents followed a vigil for teens stabbed on a TARC bus. A grand jury declined to indict a man charged in the stabbings based on a video depicting the teens assaulting the man beforehand.Police said their plan for Friday is "flexible and allows us to disperse resources where they may be needed most." The plan includes officers from LMPD, UofL Police, Louisville Metro Corrections and the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office.Louisville and Kentucky are scheduled to tipoff in the men's NCAA Tournament's Sweet 16 at 9:45 p.m. Friday.
