Hullian111

Friday had come, and also, so did the concertgoers. The buses in the Yellow Pick-Up Point were almost immediately packed as soon as the doors were opened, watched on by armed GLP and British Transport Police officers. Behind the sudden road closure, bus enthusiasts had the time of their lives photographing the buses at the pick-up point, some getting waves from the concertgoers on the bus, who were ready to embrace the first day of a big weekend.

And the night before the festivalgoers arrived, the police, ambulance services and security officers began to arrive in the park. They pulled up to the temporary car park, and following a briefing by the commanding officer, began to prepare themselves for a weekend of music, disorder, and sunburn.

"Strange seeing Stagecoach in Liberty, eh?" Someone tweeted at the crack of dawn. Greater Liberty is a city run entirely by Arriva, who quickly snapped up the local bus company upon deregulation. However, Arriva heads realised immediately they needed help trying to micromanage both running the Park & Ride network alongside the rest of the public transport network. So they drafted in local Stagecoach and First companies in to cover most of the Park & Rides, with Arriva even sending out some regional spares. Upon mention of 'Park & Ride', the enthusiasts clamoured to the city in droves.

And once everyone was accounted for, the roads that did not fall under access points were closed off. It all began to take shape now - security points were beginning to pop up, checkpoints were being sorted out, and barriers were being erected. The Meadows Park area had effectively shut down. By now, the GLP were marking out their own cruisers to signify where they would be assigned. The three zones were put on as vinyls onto each car that was going to go work in the festival grounds, and each vehicle had their own little jurisdiction - Z1 took the north side, Z2 took the south side, while Z3 took the airport. Soon, the buses would be arriving. And soon, the people would be, too. (BTW, this is the first time I have used object spawning with the Simple Native Trainer. Tips on how to easily spawn and move objects would be greatly appreciated)

Once all of the stage and equipment had arrived, it was now up to the Greater Liberty Police to start clearing out homes in the secure zone. Sure, some of them were staying to help around in the festival, some even offering open houses after the grounds closed, but the majority didn't want to stay - they wanted to sleep at night. So the night after, the true beginning of Operation Ashahara began. GLP units combed the streets in the secure zone, politely asking that they start packing up and leaving in time for the weekend, and liasing with their supervisors about the progress made. It was essential that those without explicit permission would be off-site by the weekend - who knows what they could be doing there?

A week in advance, the trucks carrying bits and pieces of the stages and other festival equipment arrive in Meadows Park near midnight, forcing the GLP to close off the roads leading onto Livingston Street. But wait, you might ask, the crew entrance is just off the motorway. Well unfortunately, the snooty residents of Meadow Hills filed a complaint against the organiser about 'potential distruption' because of the trucks a few nights before they were legally obliged to leave their homes. This resulted in a logistical nightmare to get the 16-wheeler trucks into the park. After much negotiation over the course of three hours, slightly behind schedule, the trucks arrived in the park via an agreed route. And from then on, they got to work. (sorry about the distruption from earlier. I think we're finally sorted now)

Sweet Christ, for the third time in a row, I think I've actually sorted it out now. One night in May, the heads of the city's emergency services went over details of how the event will be co-ordinated, security-wise. While the bands would be protected by typical event security, the Greater Liberty Police were also asked to provide security on-site between the three zones marked out on this here map. The 'Liberate Festival' was ticketed via a 'wristband' system. Festivalgoers would recieve tickets and wear wristbands that were either Red, Yellow or Blue. This indicated where they would enter on the park and ride buses on stops around the city - Zone 3, for example, is a pick-up point for international festivalgoers, those who had cars in the Dukes area, or those who had taken the elevated train to the airport pick-up zone. The Yellow entrance also provided access for crew members, allowing them to exit and enter Meadows Park quick and clean. The combined command area was the GLP station and Cerveza Heights hospital on Livingston Street. Some police would be stationed in the command room in the station, while paramedics and doctors would be on hand to assist those who had become sick or injured in some way. The purple square, however, was where most of the police cars and ambulances not in used would be stationed - Livingston Street was a Blue entry point, after all. Sounds complicated? I agree - this took an hour or so to arrange. But it's been on my mind for a little while - I know, I can't add the crowds properly, but I'll try and emulate that, and follow this plan in-game, if I can.