LOCAL : Anticipated Shopping Madness Doesn’t Materialize, Police Say
It may be billed as the biggest shopping day of the year, but traffic was proving to be unexpectedly light around many of the major malls this morning.
Costa Mesa police dispatched extra officers to South Coast Plaza in anticipation of a morning rush of autos that failed to materialize, Officer Bob Crogan said.
“We had anticipated a large crowd clogging the roads, especially Bristol Street, but it hasn’t panned out that way,” Crogan said.
Santa Ana police had not planned any special traffic control measures around that city’s MainPlace Mall and had yet to encounter any major tie-ups, Sgt. Randall Eldridge said.
Newport Beach police also reported “very light” traffic around Fashion Island.
Westminster police assigned an officer just for parking lot duty in the Westminster Mall and also put officers on the rooftop to search out prospective car thieves. But as noon approached, traffic into the mall was far below the crush that had been expected, Lt. Larry Woessner reported.
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