MILWAUKEE — There are 54 days left until thousands of delegates, politicians, and visitors will be in Milwaukee for the RNC.
Security organizers say one large part of making sure national conventions are secure is the Coast Guard making sure the waters are safe.
Though final perimeter plans won't be released for a few more weeks, certain maritime decisions have already been made, according to RNC Secret Service coordinator Audrey Gibson-Cicchino.
"The Secret Service has determined that the Milwaukee River will likely fall within our security zone," Gibson-Cicchino said.
The river will likely be closed from Clybourn Street through Pleasant Street during convention week in July.
So what does that mean for people who rely on that river for business?
"We're still hoping to get people downtown and on our rivers in different ways," said Beth Handle.
Handle has owned theMilwaukee Kayak Company for over a decade, which operates along the Milwaukee River.
Her and other business owners on the water were told a few weeks ago about the impact to their shops during that week in July.
Luckily for Handle, her company has access to the Kinnikinnick and Menomonee Valley rivers which are where she'll direct her customers for the days the Milwaukee River is out of service.
"So you can launch out of there as well, and have some fun on maybe two other rivers that you've never been on before," Handle said.
She tells me other cruise-line businesses who dock only along the Milwaukee River are planning to move their operations to Port Washington for that week.
Secret Service and the U.S. Coast Guard are out on the waters for training Wednesday, assuring residents the inconvenience is necessary for the function of the event.
"Establishing an effective perimeter is essential to ensuring the safety of the city and the convention," Gibson-Cicchino explained.
A map was released by Mayor Cavalier Johnson in February that shows the areas in downtown Milwaukee that are most likely to be impacted by security plans during July's Republican National Convention.
You can view the map below:
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