Like most people her age, Kira Johnson knows exactly what St. Patrick’s Day looks like in Waterloo’s university district.
She started her March 17 visits to Ezra Avenue when she was in high school. Now a few years older, she has friends in Toronto who make sure they’re free that day to make the trip to Waterloo. She doesn’t spend the day on Ezra herself anymore.
“It is getting a little out of control,” she says, referencing the presence of “a lot of very drunk teenagers and young adults.”
Police agree. They see the crowds growing every year – a police-estimated 15,000 people filled Ezra in 2017 – and worry about the resources needed to keep the party from spiraling out of control.
“It’s really reached a breaking point. We can no longer contain this,” Waterloo Regional Police Chief Bryan Larkin said Friday.
“Street parties, and the gathering on streets, simply can’t continue.”
Larkin says police are planning an “enough is enough” approach to this year’s party. It’s partially because of the continually escalating crowds, and partially because March 17 falls on a Saturday this year, for the first time since 2012.
Saturdays are typically busier days for police in general. They also usually attract bigger crowds for St. Patrick’s Day, as many people don’t have to attend work or school.
There are two major components to this year’s increased police response.
For one thing, police officers will be brought in from Peel Region to help keep things under control and ticket or arrest anyone found breaking the law.
On top of that, Larkin says, police will attempt to stop the Ezra Avenue street party before it can start.
“We’ll be discouraging any street assembly. We’ll be moving people along,” he said.
“We recognize that we may not change this overnight, but now we’re sending a message around ‘This cannot continue.’”
In addition, police plan to inspect buses arriving in Waterloo Region on St. Patrick’s Day, urging the people inside the buses to celebrate the day at a bar or restaurant.
“We’re encouraging all people to be smart, to be respectful and to stay safe,” Larkin said.
Johnson, who has stopped spending her St. Patrick’s Days on Ezra in recent years, says she’s glad to see police taking a more firm approach.
“Every year I’ve been, there’ve been more police officers – but nothing’s really changed,” she says.
“I hope they can crack down on it. No one really follows the rules.”
Policing St. Patrick’s Day events in 2017 cost $128,000, according to Larkin.
With reporting by Krista Simpson
