Police, Fire Prepared for Black Friday Challenges

Shoppers are not the only one gearing up for Black Friday and Midnight Madness at the new Merrimack Premium Outlets.

Merrimack Police Chief Mark Doyle said at the end of last week that they've already stepped up holiday patrols with traffic to the center having already increased for holiday shopping as some sales have begun early. But they are putting a plan in place for Thursday into Friday akin to the one implemented very successfully in June when the Outlets opened.

“We anticipate a lot of traffic getting up into mall area on Thursday night and Friday,” Doyle said. He said they've talked with the mall and their traffic consultant. “We don't anticipate there to be anything more than what was seen in the grand opening.”

Doyle said in addition to assisting the mall's security team with directing traffic they will be patrolling the parking lots, this weekend and throughout the holiday season looking for any issues that might arise as far as motor-vehicle break-ins and any other suspicious activity as well as for driver and pedestrian safety.

“We feel pretty well prepared,” Doyle said. “We don't expect too many challenges.

With rolling store openings, some at 9 p.m. on Thanksgiving and others waiting until midnight, Doyle said they'll likely see staggered traffic. The nature of the mall being open-air may also deter others from shopping late at night when it is bound to be colder, he said.

Doyle said if the traffic in and out of the Outlets goes as smoothly the first weekend the Outlets were open in Merrimack, motorists have little to worry about.

Fire Chief Michel Currier said his department will be standby all weekend for the possibility of increased calls to the area. With more cars there's more potential for traffic accidents, with more people there's more potential for slips, trips and falls.

Currier encourages drivers to be patient if they get stuck in slow moving traffic and the be alert while walking around the mall as well as in the parking lots.
“I think that patience is not going to be a virtue that evening,” Currier said. “But, as long as (the police) do their job correctly, then everything moves along.”

Currier said members of his department have also started their own holiday work up there, conducting spot inspections of the stores in the mall check for any safety hazards that come with adding more merchandise to stores.

Currier said everything has been mostly good, the only real issues have been extra merchandise with no real home blocking egresses and hallways necessary in an emergency.

Currier said they will continue the inspections through the holiday season as well as spot checks in the parking lots to make sure cars and delivery trucks are not blocking the fire lanes.

Both chiefs said they aren't not completely sure what to expect for Midnight Madness, Black Friday or the holiday shopping season as a whole, because the only thing they have to compare it to is opening weekend.

Currier said with the other businesses in town, the need for added inspections hasn't cropped up because nothing has been a draw like this will be.

Doyle said he has no true tool to gauge what sort of increased crime they may see at the Merrimack Premium Outlets as the holiday shopping season continues, without a prior year to compare it to.

He said they have had their fair share of theft, bad checks and counterfeiting to deal with and he's not sure how much that may increase during the holidays when crowds are larger and store associates busier.

“We expect to see increases across the realm of those types of theft challenges,” Doyle said, he just wasn't sure to what extent. “We're ready to handle the influx if it's there.”

Doyle said in addition to increased traffic in the mall area, he expects to see traffic spillover on Continental Boulevard, Route 101A and Daniel Webster Highway, especially from people looking for a place to sit down and eat.

“I would expect people in and around the mall are seeing more of that already,” Doyle said.

Despite the challenges that Midnight Madness and Black Friday may create, Doyle and Currier believe the plans in place will make things run smoothly through the weekend.

“I'm cautiously optimistic,” Currier said. “The police have done their due diligence think it should be pretty smooth.”