Waterloo needs to 'change the nature' of St. Patrick's Day street party, says task force

Waterloo needs to "change the nature" of the unsanctioned St. Patrick's Day street party that takes place each year on Ezra Avenue, and a new report from a taskforce looking at the party has made 12 recommendations on how to do that.

The report is set to be discussed Tuesday at the city council meeting.

The city needs to address the problem, because with thousands of young people gathering on the street with alcohol, "these large gatherings are now at a scale where safety of attendees is at risk," the report said.

"These large gatherings pose significant safety risks to the community, do not enhance community cohesion, divert resources from other community needs (including emergency response needs) and are negatively impacting the image of all stakeholders and attendees."

From crowd control to a shift in party culture

The 12 recommendations fall under four themes:

• Operational excellence.
• Culture change.
• Community impact.
• Ongoing initiatives.

The recommendations include continuing with crowd management tools, like the fencing that was brought in for last fall's homecoming celebrations, to make the street less attractive to people celebrating St. Patrick's Day.

The task force says the party is often seen as a rite of passage for students, so the nature of the event needs to change. That includes having universities talk to students about why they need to have "responsible celebration" and that street parties are frowned upon.

"Post-secondary institutions need to shift the party culture to one of community respect," the report says.

The schools and students should also be taking on more of the cost for emergency responders at these kinds of parties, the report says.

But the taskforce also says the city needs to lobby the province to change how municipal enforcement officers can deal with the parties, including forcing someone being charged with a bylaw violation to have to produce valid personal identification.

Costs reaching 'unsustainable levels'

"Costs are increasing to unsustainable levels," the report says, noting there's no way to cover the costs except through taxpayer dollars.

The recommendations will mean an initial increase in funding from the city, police and the universities, but the plan "will lead to a reduction in the financial burden for all partners," the report says.

The party has grown significantly in the past few years, from between 5,000 and 7,000 in 2015 to 33,000 in 2019, when the party was on a Sunday. This year the party is on a Tuesday.

The taskforce says the recommendations are meant for this year's party, expected to take place in two weeks, and beyond "with a goal of significantly altering the trajectory of these events in the next one to three years."