Waterloo’s mayor Dave Jaworsky is calling out big street events, such as the Ezra Avenue St. Patrick’s Day party, saying they are ‘inconsistent’ with the city’s brand.
It was all discussed at a meeting held at Laurier University Monday, between Waterloo’s task force and dozens of students.
The purpose was for the task force to hear from students about why these events are appealing, and if they can be converted into something better in the future.
The task force was formed last year, with the goal of creating a five-year plan to phase out and shut down the Ezra Avenue party.
Jaworsky said the street events aren’t sustainable, simply due to crowd size, cost, and health and safety.
“It's the best place in Canada to get an education with Laurier, Waterloo and Conestoga College. We've built a brand around that along with discovery, entrepreneurship, that we have going on here, and things like a massive street party where people are injured or too much alcohol, that's really just inconsistent with that brand,” said Jaworsky.
Regional police estimate that 33,000 people were on the street at the party’s peak, noting that this number does not account for the entire day’s traffic.
That’s up from about 22,000 at the peak of last year’s party. And another street over, police had to close Bricker Avenue for the first time.
The information from Monday’s session will go to the city’s taskforce.
