Included in the task force recommendations are 41 actions, from beefed up bylaw enforcement to safety messaging — many of which could be implemented universally to deal with large street parties.

However Jaworsky said Ezra Avenue is obviously the primary focus for students. The annual St. Patrick’s Day street party, which grew to 33,000 attendees last year, is seen as a rite-of-passage, but has attracted increasingly large numbers of out-of-town revelers just looking for a good time.

It reached a tipping point last year.

“I don’t believe our crowd density can get any higher than that and it was already dangerous,” Jaworsky said. “This party at the peak is like being trapped in quicksand. You’re drawn in, you can’t move and you have to literally go with the flow.

“Every year we take 60ish kids in ambulance to hospital — of the 60, 40 are drunk and 20 are dying. They are in serious or critical condition. Yet, luckily, they've all pulled through."

Costs are increasing to unsustainable levels, the task force report states.

Annual combined costs of St. Patrick’s Day and Ezra Avenue Homecoming were approximately $750,000 for service providers (police, paramedic and city) in both 2018 and 2019. “With no current avenue to recover these costs, taxpayers throughout the region are paying for these events.”

The report says costs will likely increase in the short term.

The crowd at the annual fall homecoming gathering was reduced from about 14,000 people in 2018 to under 5,000 people in 2019, in part due to co-ordinating the scheduling of homecoming with other universities and changing the complexion of the street with fencing and security pods.

“If you look at Ezra it’s exactly set up for taking selfies,” Jaworsky said. “It has a long run, a valley in between, and you can see one end of the street to the other.”

The city wants to take that perspective away and make it less welcoming.

Without Ezra Avenue and the selfie moments it produces with waves of green, Waterloo’s St. Patrick’s Day is just like any other — perhaps not even as good, Jaworsky said.

“People who go there, they’ve told me there’s nothing to do, there’s nowhere to go, you can’t move, and there’s no cellphone reception. It’s a good selfie picture, but a boring time,” he said.

“And we’re going to get a sign just for St. Patrick’s Day that says unwelcome to Waterloo,” Jaworsky said, adding that changing the messaging through peer pressure and even parental guidance is most key going forward.

“Parents should be telling their kids this is the most dangerous party and to stay away. End of story,” said Jaworsky, who views himself as the dad of 50,000 students.

“There’s no doubt in my mind this is the most dangerous party around, and it needs to be avoided.”

The task force has identified the need for a comprehensive communications plan that will require approximately $100,000 to implement. Local post-secondary institutions have agreed to contribute with the city kicking in a maximum of $10,000.

Other recommendations deal with changing the nature of the events and institutional culture: “Post-secondary institutions need to shift the party culture to one of community respect, even when celebrating events on campus, in private residences, or in licensed establishments.”

Ultimately, the task force has concluded that the trajectory of the event must be scaled down over time.

“This issue has been aptly described as a ‘wicked problem,’ and in order to appropriately address this problem, all available tools need to be deployed.”

Lobbying for legislative change is needed.

Currently, municipal bylaw enforcement cannot require people to produce identification when being issued an infraction which results in individuals providing inaccurate personal identification, and ultimately, not being held responsible for their actions or the resulting fines, the report notes.

Along with the implementation of a co-ordinated on-street approach between bylaw officers and first responders, the city has strengthened bylaws to help shut down parties early due to noise complaints and is restricting on-street parking the night before street gatherings to help reduce the number of interlopers.

“In the lead-up to these large gatherings, many local students are approached by out-of-town acquaintances for a place to stay. As an example, the task force heard directly from a student that her five-bedroom apartment had 30 guests stay over for St. Patrick’s Day 2019.”

The growing crowd size is lending itself to crimes of opportunity within the crowd and at house parties which can leave lasting impacts on individuals, the report notes.

“We’re at a risk that the crowd is so dense that the ability for support people to get to them such as paramedics is really tough,” said Dykstra. “Safety is of paramount concern.”



