We all decorate before a big party, but London's authorities seem to be going all out on Broughdale Avenue, the street synonmous with a yearly student blowout that attracts tens of thousands of revelers from all over the country.

For the past few years, the stubby street of mostly student rental homes comes alive with a teeming mass of bodies, fit to burst with purple-clad party animals, drinking, carousing and generally having fun, while a small army of police, paramedics and city officials undertake the more sober task of making sure none of them get killed.

So far, most of the visible preparations for the big party on the last weekend of September aren't coming from the students, but rather the authorities.

A series of coloured panels are now affixed to telephone poles on the street and they've inspired some widespread speculation among Broughdale's more curious residents.

'Warning sign for foco'

Tim Montgommery is a kinesiology student at Western University who lives on Broughdale Avenue. (Colin Butler/CBC News)

"My house and myself believe [the coloured panels] are some sort of warning sign for foco," said Western student Celia Chapcott, who lives on the street.

"We assume it's some kind of gauge or where police barricades are or something like that."

"I was just trying to figure out what they were the other day," said Western University kinesiology student Tim Montgommery, who also lives on Broughdale.

"They're all different colours, so I assume they're for the convenience of the people who are looking out for the students that day."

Police released this aerial footage of crowds crammed onto Broughdale Avenue during a massive student street in 2019. Police say the size of the crowd, estimated at 20,000 people, has turned the party into a threat to public safety. (London Police Service)

According to the London Police Service, he's right.

"The coloured panels identify zones that will help the City and first responders coordinate a response in the event that something happens," London Police spokeswoman Const. Sandasha Bough wrote in an email to CBC News.

Bough also indicated the London Police Service has also installed a number of cameras in the area and plans to use drones to monitor the teeming crowd on the big day.

It's all a little too much for Lindsey Orlando, who rents one of the student homes on the street.

Will Robinson is a Fanshawe College student who lives on one of the streets adjoining Broughdale Avenue. (Colin Butler/CBC News)

She said a number of her neighbours have been fined for throwing parties, while others have had their parties snuffed out by the cops before they got started.

"A friend of mine, he was going to throw a party on tower lane and the police messaged him: 'thanks for inviting us, we'll be bringing tickets to everyone involved.' Then the guy messaged back and said 'you're not invited.'"

"I think it's kind of crazy. I think they're going over the top," Orlando said. "They're being super strict with people."

"We're just trying to have fun, show school spirit. I mean really, what's going to happen? Nobody wants to set cars on fire," she said. "At least, I don't."

Others, like Will Robinson, a Fanshawe student who lives on one of Broughdale's adjoining streets, thinks all the surveillance is a bit odd.

"It does weird me out a little bit," he said. "I don't see how it's really going to help the situation."

"Sure [police] can use it to identify people after the fact, but it's still going to be a wild party. They can't do anything about it at the time."

"More prevention, I think is what I would prefer."

The London Police Service agrees. In an email to CBC News, police spokeswoman Const. Sandasha Bough wrote that the surveillance in place on Broughdale is focused on safety.

She said police cameras and drones will be trained on the party and continuously monitored so that first responders can act swiftly in the case of an emergency.