MILWAUKEE — The Republican National Convention is bringing thousands to Milwaukee, and the need for high-level security is evident.
As folks made their way into the designated security zones to get close in on the action, many waited in lines that stretched blocks of downtown, which took several hours.
Our crews entering in the Michigan vehicle checkpoint Monday, spent an hour and a half in line to get through. So, we talked to people in line to see how long they've spent to get through.
"25 minutes," Courtney Olson told us.
"Not that long, maybe like 20 minutes so far, but I literally just moved from the light, so not very far," Grace Mattice said.
VIDEO: Residents, workers, visitors wait hours to enter the security perimeter
Mattice works inside the security perimeter at 3rd Street Market Hall.
"Were you prepared for this," Jenna Rae asked Mattice.
"I was. They did a really good job. I mean, my shift starts at 4:30, it's 1:30, so they prepared us on the heavy traffic and where to go," Mattice explained.
Olson lives inside the perimeter and said communication was more difficult for her.
"I've just gotten lost a lot of times trying to get around. I have no idea where to get in anywhere," Olson said.
For others, like business owner Alberto Gonzales, it's been exceptionally challenging.
"I'm trying to get my food truck in there, so I can hopefully sell some of these pizza cones and be part of the festivities," Gonzales said.
For Gonzales, who sells pizza cones out of his food truck 'Gonzo's Pizza Cones', time has not been of the essence.
"My journey started about 11 o'clock, so I've been about two hours just in this line. Then, it took another hour to get right off the freeway just to here, so I'm at about three hours right now," Gonzales explained.
Three hours into his journey and finally approaching security, Gonzales said he was forced to turn around by the Secret Service and go to a different checkpoint.
"I was not prepared for a two-hour wait, so I mean, once I started you know what I'm not going to stop now," Gonzales added.
Rae spoke to Gonzales on the phone hours after they first met in line. He said he went to another checkpoint, waited in line, and was told to go to a different one.
Finally, Gonzales said he got in and was able to park his food truck a few blocks from Fiserv Forum. He called Rae after his first customer's purchase.
If you live, work or plan to be downtown this week, it's best to plan ahead and prepare for long lines and traffic.
