One of the biggest street festivals in Toronto closed early Saturday night due to overcrowding, but organizers say they’re already working on adjustments for next year to make things right.
Do West Fest ran from Friday to Sunday on Dundas Street, between Shaw Street and Lansdowne Avenue, in the city’s Little Portugal neighbourhood.
The Little Portugal Toronto BIA, which organized the event, said they were expecting more than one million visitors over the weekend.
While that number is still pending through crowd-counting data, Toronto police told CTV News on Tuesday that the number of people in attendance on day two was unlike anything it had ever seen from the festival in year’s past.
“The size of Saturday’s crowd was larger than in previous years and posed challenges,” a spokesperson for Toronto police said in an email.
Police said they were forced to close the event one hour early due to the crowds, saying that it “became clear” as the night went on that vehicular traffic in the area had come to a standstill with “hundreds” of cars parked illegally nearby.
“As a result of the risk this posed, particularly on the ability of emergency services to navigate through the area, officers made the decision to begin closing the event down at approximately 22:00 hours.”
Dundas Street was closed to east-west traffic all weekend, with some exceptions for north-south travel.
One post on Reddit about the crowds has garnered more than 300 replies, with one person saying this year’s event was the “most packed” they had ever witnessed.
Another said they experienced a crowd crush at one point, as the weight of the mass of people pushed up against them. “It could have easily gone badly.” At least two videos of fights at the festival have surfaced online.
Police said there was not an insignificant amount of crime at this year’s event, with 66 calls for service, 41 of which were for theft under $5,000. At least 36 of those calls were for pickpocketing of cellphones.
“We had 7 arrests in the same time frame, 5 of which were for assault,” police said.
Organizers say requests for more police was ‘underfulfilled’
In a statement posted to its website following the event, Do West Fest organizers said while they had increased security throughout the weekend, its request for additional police officers was not satisfied.
“In consultation with TPS our request for paid duty officers was nearly doubled from last year, to assist with traffic management, crowd control, and public safety. With many large events happening this weekend and in the coming weeks - this year police resources were stretched thin and our request was underfulfilled,” organizers said.
For its part, Toronto police said organizers are encouraged to submit requests for paid duty officers and provide payment confirmation “as early as possible.” Police did not indicate when the event organizers made the request for additional officers.
“This gives us time to post the assignments and allows officers the opportunity to volunteer for them.”
The BIA said its events committee has started to evaluate this year’s festival and is discussing adjustments for next year. It said some options currently under considerations include “modest” changes to operating hours, as well as refinements to its amplified sound management.
“As attendance continues to grow, ensuring public safety, centering our local businesses, and delivering meaningful cultural and economic benefits to our wider communities remain at the core of every decision we make,” the organizers wrote.
Coun. Alejandra Bravo, who represents the riding, declined to comment.
