Mailing a letter, throwing away your trash and finding a place to park could become complicated tasks during the 2002 Winter Games.
In an effort to make downtown Salt Lake City a safer place, police and businesses are taking several extra security precautions that will serve as subtle reminders that the world has descended on Utah's doorsteps amid an increased threat of terrorism since the Sept. 11 attacks.
On Thursday, FBI Director Robert Mueller said the United States remains on a "very high state of alert" in part because of documents recovered in Afghanistan that had helped identify unspecified plots. He declined to elaborate.
"We've moved heaven and earth to provide security, whether it be the Super Bowl or the Olympics, and I think we've done a good job in enhancing the security," he told a news briefing at FBI headquarters.
"We're still in a high state of alert and will be for some time."
Games organizers and private businesses in downtown Salt Lake City are taking no chances.
Beginning the first week in February, the U.S. Postal Service will remove 53 blue collection boxes from downtown locations during the Winter Games. Larger collection boxes will be located just outside of the immediate downtown area.
The trash cans that dot downtown streets? Gone.
In their place will be a central trash center along Main Street. Many businesses are also removing, sealing or locking their Dumpsters.
Manhole covers along city streets will also be welded shut to prevent terrorists from using the underground sewer system for an attack.
Businesses are prohibiting visitors from wandering through downtown office buildings, and police are warning high-rise tenants to restrict roof access out of fear that protesters might use the prominent buildings to hang banners promoting their causes.
Even shopping centers such as The Gateway and ZCMI Center are beefing up security personnel for the Olympics.
"When you're talking to business owners we're kind of telling them, 'Let's take the whole picture — what can be used against us?' and we try to take those away," Salt Lake City Police Sgt. Fred Louis said. "Those things were left up to business owners. We're just making recommendations."
But while shoppers may notice extra security patrols downtown during the Games, don't expect any Checkpoint Charlies if you go to buy an Olympic souvenir.
"It's not like we're going to be strip-searching people or doing anything wild," said Jake Boyer, project manager for The Gateway. "We will have a lot more eyes and ears on The Gateway Project, but it's not going to feel like a militarized zone by any means."
The Gateway plans to bring in extra security personnel, including bomb-sniffing dogs that will conduct nightly sweeps of the expansive parking garage that sits under the newly constructed shopping center across the street from the Delta Center, home to Olympic skating events.
ZCMI Center is doubling its support services staff and outfitting them in matching white shirts and black Olympic vests, said David Jensen, senior vice president and chief operating officer for Zions Security Corp.
Crossroads Mall officials refused to discuss their security plans for the Games.
For some downtown facilities that do not have high consumer traffic, such as the Qwest building on the corner of 100 South and State, plastic barricades and an imposing security guard aren't a problem. As added protection, metered parking alongside the building has also been removed.
And in light of concerns over infrastructure facilities, especially since Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's ominous warning that such facilities could be terrorist targets, companies like Qwest are are reluctant to delve into the details of their security plans.
"We are not talking about our security," Qwest spokeswoman for Utah Caroline Roemer said. "We have bolstered security precautions just like everyone else."
Even innocent sightseers looking for a prime view of Salt Lake City's skyline during the Games will have to hike up a hill to do so. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has closed off its observation deck on top of the church office building.
Contributing: Reuters
E-MAIL: djensen@desnews.com