Drinking on Opening Day? Have a designated driver
MILWAUKEE (WITI) -- The Southeastern Wisconsin OWI Task Force has announced two upcoming deployments: the first on Opening Day, and the second in conjunction with the NCAA men's basketball Final Four.
The first OWI Task Force deployment will occur on Monday, April 1st, as the Milwaukee Brewers open their 2013 season at Miller Park.
"We plan on doing extra enforcement. We're not planning on putting extra squads out, however, we are circulating all our squads up in the area of Bluemound Road, 68th Street, in the area of Hawley, by Milwaukee and we're doing an extra task force for, basically, drunk driving," Wauwatosa Police Sgt. Gary Gabrish said.
The deployment will focus on roadways leading to and from Miller Park, from Milwaukee out into each of the adjoining suburbs.
Another area that will be the focus of enforcement will be establishments that have larger than normal crowds gathering for the Brewer games.
Joe Janz with Steve's on Bluemound says he is looking forward to once again taking fans to Miller Park this Brewers season in the "Brew Crewser." Steve's is one of 40 Milwaukee-area establishments offering shuttle rides to Miller Park.
"What's nice, now that there's 40 of us all over town -- just go to the bar or club or whatever closest to your house or just take a cab to start with," Janz said.
Janz says besides deterring drunk driving, the shuttles also alleviate traffic around Miller Park and in the surrounding neighborhoods.
"We work with the Brewers, law enforcement, and security to get people in and out. People are happy. We don't have too many problems. The problem is we don't have enough buses," Janz said.
The message from the Task Force to the public is go and have a good time, cheer on the Milwaukee Brewers to a victory -- but do so responsibly and do not drink and drive. Have a game plan in mind which includes a "relief driver."
The second deployment will be on Saturday, April 6th in conjunction with the NCAA men's basketball Final Four.
This deployment will focus on areas where large groups gather to watch the games which typically involves the consumption of alcohol. The Task hopes patrons have a good time but asks the public, including managers, servers and consumers to act responsible and not drink and drive.
Both of these deployments will include law enforcement from all levels. The Wisconsin State Patrol and the County Sheriff's Office will focus their efforts on the interstate while municipal law enforcement concentrates on county highways and local roads.