The first electronic signboard greets drivers coming north on Main Street more than a mile south of downtown, and it’s followed by others warning them of street closures and detours.
Large concrete K-rails stretch across Main Street just north of the RTA hub, ensuring that no vehicle traffic gets through. But the block after block of 8-to-12-foot high metal fencing is the more visually arresting feature.
The NATO security zone in the heart of downtown, a handful of blocks in each direction, was still a work in progress Wednesday morning, as vehicle traffic was blocked off but pedestrians still wandered through.
Nick Beech, from London, England, is in Dayton to help run the conference and give procedural advice.
Prior to arriving, his Dayton knowledge consisted of the Wright brothers and Dayton Accords. Beech also has met Rep. Mike Turner in Europe and said he’s excited to see Turner’s hometown.
Beech works as a clerk in the United Kingdom Parliament and London House of Commons, which has provided extra staff for at NATO Parliamentary Assembly since 1955, he explained.
“Why this is valuable is parliamentarians from 30 NATO member states coming together to agree what they can easily state is true, and what we’re looking for is things that everyone across the room can agree on,” he said.
Two things he’s excited for is trying the local food and learning more about baseball. One of Beech’s meetings is at Day Air Ballpark.
“I like baseball very much,” he said. “I’m a cricketer in England and it’s the closest game to cricket.”
Daytonians Judith Moore and Paula Tabatabaie were out for a 9 a.m. walk Wednesday through what Tabatabaie called “a busy ghost town.” On the one hand, all regular vehicle traffic was blocked. On the other, golf carts and lift trucks and police vehicles trundled here and there doing setup work.
Asked whether they thought the NATO event featuring visiting legislators from dozens of countries was a good thing or a hassle for Dayton, Moore didn’t hesitate.
“I think it’s an honor,” she said, calling the traffic issues a minor inconvenience. “I like the way everything’s cleaned up – new trees and flowers … it makes it really pretty. It’s sparkling."
The edges of the core NATO village area were an odd dichotomy. Groups of armed police blocked the roads with their cars, while work commuters strolled 10 feet away on the other side of the barriers, carrying their computer bags and lunches.
Main Street is festooned with Welcome to Dayton banners paired with flags of each participating NATO country. No, there’s no test on the flags yet (hint: Germany’s black, red and yellow stripes are horizontal, while Belgium’s are vertical).
Aarion Smith, who lives at the Biltmore Towers at First and Main, stood outside Wednesday morning, watching the final fencing go up on the sidewalk outside his home. One of his neighbors was angrily yelling at the work crews, but Smith said the area sometimes has trouble with “a lot of riff-raff” and he didn’t mind the fencing.
“We knew this was going to happen. Some people are saying they don’t like it, but better safe than sorry,” Smith said. “So many countries are coming here, and their entourages, so you have to keep everybody safe.”
Dolores Walker, another Biltmore Towers resident, said she was here 30 years ago during the Dayton Peace Accords.
“I’m glad to see Dayton hit the national news again,” she said. “...It was just an experience to see all those people from different worlds, different nations make it here, and its good to be here again with them.”
Morning rush-hour downtown was filled with odd traffic pauses as lines of cars heading to work reached their normal intersections expecting to turn, but had to improvise.
Downtown resident Steve Seboldt wasn’t thrilled Wednesday morning as he mapped the path his dryer repairman would have to take around closed streets to reach his home.
“I can’t decide whether I’m really insulted or just kind of upset, that they had to make it such a large area (closed off),” he said. “... It just seems like a big commotion. We’re making the best of it.”
The secure NATO village area is actually smaller than originally planned, but the tradeoff was going from a simple, perfect square of multiple blocks, to a smaller cordoned area that zigs and zags.
“I’m a good map guy, I can read a map, but I got a headache just looking at that thing,” Seboldt said.
Many different people were trying to figure out the new security setup:
The staff of the newly opened Hilton Garden Inn at the Arcade were deciding whether to lug their outdoor greeter podium to the corner of Third and Ludlow to flag down confused travelers who were blocked by K-rails on Third Street.
A group of businessmen declined an interview as they were trying to find their way on foot from a downtown hotel to a meeting that had been moved blocks away outside of the NATO zone.
With the absence of vehicle traffic, the overwhelming sound in central downtown at 9 a.m. was the leafblower crew cleaning up the grounds of the Old Courthouse at Third and Main.
Billy Carpenter said downtown has a new atmosphere. With fewer people walking around he’s been able to clear his mind and do more sightseeing.
Multiple Ohio Department of Public Safety elevated watchtowers were deployed around downtown, and a duo in Department of Homeland Security jackets were huddled in a discussion outside the Schuster Center.
Some things were unchanged - the RTA bus hub sits just outside of the fenced-off zone and was operating as usual Wednesday morning.
You could joke that the Centre City building at Fourth and Main has been practicing for NATO for years. But its protective fencing is because of falling façade, not visiting dignitaries from France.
Credit: Nick Graham
Credit: Nick Graham
Credit: Nick Graham
Credit: Nick Graham
Have a question about NATO?
Montgomery County will be staffing a special call line for residents with questions about the NATO Parliamentary Assembly events and their impact on pedestrian and vehicle traffic, as well as downtown operations. The line will be available from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. through Monday.
Residents can reach the NATO Information Line at 937-496-6911 for non-emergency inquiries related to NATO activities. Please note, this is a non-emergency line designed to reduce calls to 911. If you encounter a situation that may put people in immediate danger, please dial 911.
When the information line is not staffed (from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m.), an option to leave a voicemail will be available. For more information, residents can also visit www.natopa-dayton2025.org.
Hotel closed this week
Hotel Ardent, a hotel that opened several months ago at 137 N. Main St. inside the downtown NATO Village security zone, will temporarily close to the public from Thursday to Monday.
In a statement, the hotel said, “We view Dayton’s selection as host for this important international gathering as a positive and exciting opportunity for the city and region. While this temporary closure may affect public access, we are proud to play a part in supporting a secure and successful event.”
