Towing in Kenmore Square begins Sunday morning; bars asked to shut doors at end of third quarter

By now, Boston officials have their post-Super Bowl planning down pat: At a press conference today, Mayor Martin Walsh and Police Commissioner William Evans described a series of steps to prevent the kind of violence and death Boston saw in the past decade in the areas of Kenmore Square and Fenway.

"Everyone please come out and celebrate; all we're doing is asking people to be responsible," Evans said at a City Hall press conference. "The good thing is we're getting good at winning and hopefully we're getting good at crowd control."

Evans said the hardest part of the planning now is the order to have off-duty officers come in - "a lot of them have never gotten to see a Patriots victory in their entirety."

Key to the plan is crowd control and reducing potential vandalism targets: That's why police will bring in barriers in the third quarter to help prevent several possible large crowds heading to Kenmore from Boylston, Comm. Ave. and Brookline Ave. from converging into one giant uncontrollable mob and why cars will be banned from Kenmore Square starting Sunday morning.

Part of the effort also involves asking bar owners - who met with Evans earlier this week - to bar admission after the game's third quarter.

Extra police patrols will circulate in the area to quell any issues, Evans said - emphasizing that BPD will maintain its usual number of officers in other parts of the city.

"This is all about preventing anyone from getting hurt and any vandalism," Evans said.

Walsh said he's asking college students to stay on their campuses - although that was a request, not an order.

Unlike in Atlanta, where the city is letting bars stay open later than usual, Boston will concentrate on ensuring bars do not exceed their licensed capacities and do not let in underage drinkers. Evans said BPD detectives will be out in full force checking bars, especially in the Kenmore/Fenway area.

Evans said he did not know offhand the cost of the extra police presence and towing, but added, "yeah, it's costly but if we prevent one child getting hurt every penny's worth it as far as I'm concerned."

Walsh added that after meeting with his staff, he decided not to bet on the game with the mayor Atlanta. He said that every time he got into a wager in the past, the local team lost and enough was enough.