This weekend, San Francisco is playing host to the highly anticipated Apex Summit, a global event that has been months in the making. The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) Summit is welcoming economic leaders from around the world, including President Joe Biden. While the events are taking place at the Moscone Center, some streets and sidewalks are being impacted by security measures. ABC7 news reporter Cornell Bernard provides a closer look at these measures.
One lane of southbound Barcadero, between Broadway and Green Street, is now closed to cars, and the sidewalk is also closed. The city states that these measures are necessary for the security of the world leaders who will be gathering at the Exploratorium later in the week. However, not everyone is happy about the detours that have been put in place.
Some people are unable to walk in certain areas due to the security restrictions. These security measures are just the beginning, as by Wednesday, most of the Waterfront and the Embarcadero will be off-limits to both cars and pedestrians. The focus of the Apex Summit is on women’s economic empowerment, and the Moscone Center has set up kiosks and workstations for over 2,000 registered journalists. One of the first events featured a senior US official, Matt Murray, who spoke to local high school students about why this summit matters.
He emphasized the importance of sharing ideas and best practices and focusing on cooperation. A solidarity event at the summit highlighted the importance of human rights, with Chinese dissident Congressman Mike Gallagher expressing concerns about the potential neglect of this issue during the high-level dialogue between President Xi Jinping and President Joe Biden..
