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w at er lo oc hr on ic le .c a W at er lo o C hr on ic le | T hu rs da y, M ar ch 14 ,2 01 9 | 6 CAMBRIDGE 90 Main Street cornerstonefurniture.ca 519.740.9991 /CornerstoneHome /cornerstonehomeinteriors Select floor model sofas at 35% off! CORNERSTONE'S WINTER SALE CONTINUES Cornerstone receives container loads of furniture every week. Come in to experience the vast selection of chairs, sofas, dining tables, rugs, cabinets and cupboards. We have a myriad of accessories that will finish off the look you're going for. $1,150.00 $769.00 $2,865.00 $1,825.00 $599.00 $399.00 $1,750.00 $1,225.00 $1,350.00 $995.00 $1,595.00 $1,100.00 $5,200.00 $3,475.00 $699.00 $499.00 $725.00 $475.00 $749.00 $525.00 $1,375.00 $925.00 While Main Street is being improved, our rear entrance is open for customers. WATERLOO - When it comes to reducing the crowds gathered at the an- nual Ezra Avenue street party for St. Patrick's Day, it appears authorities have few new ideas. They will blanket the ar- ea with police officers as they did last year in an at- tempt to contain, but not shrink, the March 17 party that now stretches into sur- rounding neighbourhoods. "Our overall approach is community safety, high- visible police enforcement, deterring unlawful activity and providing an efficient police response," said Staff Sgt. Jamie Sheridan, major event planner with Water- loo Regional Police. In addition to local offi- cers, police with Peel Re- gional Police will be on Ez- ra as they were last year. "From an enforcement perspective, we are treat- ing this event as no differ- ent than any other day in the Region of Waterloo," he said. Sheridan said officers will take action and "will be watching for offences and unlawful activity taking place." On that day, police aim to contain the crowd, not reduce it, he said. That's a goal for the City of Water- loo's task force looking at how to put an end the event. "Our operations are not geared toward decreasing or restricting the size of the crowds," Sheridan said. Last year, 22,400 gath- ered on the street, but that estimate didn't include the crowds walking along King Street or the partygoers at houses in adjacent neigh- bourhoods, said Wilfrid Laurier University's vice- president of student affairs David McMurray. The crowd this year could easily surpass 25,000, worrying authorities who feel exasperated by the un- sanctioned street party. For the city, the univer- sities, police and others monitoring the party, the real concern is estimating how many students will come to the region from other universities and high schools. Officials will knock on doors in the neighbour- hoods around Ezra on Wednesday with a message of safety and respect for others. Being on Ezra for St. Patrick's Day has become a bucket list event where stu- dents want to be seen and have selfies taken, Murray said. "The university discour- ages it very strongly, but that hasn't had any effect on whether they are going to make an appearance or not," he said. Last year, busloads of students arrived in Water- loo. Police stopped cars on roads, many filled with stu- dents destined for Ezra. "It's a real challenge now that we have such strong interest coming from outside the communi- ty," McMurray said. This year, St. Patrick's Day is on a Sunday at the end of March break. "We'll see the cars com- ing in on Friday. Walk through the surrounding neighbourhoods and you'll see a significant number of parked cars on streets," said McMurray, who hosted a meeting with other universities last month to address the growing crowds at St. Pat- rick's Day celebrations near campuses. Laurier is spending $200,000 to have extra secu- rity on campus for the weekend. Police spent more than $300,000 enforc- ing the event last year. In 2018, police laid 648 charges with 440 of them related to alcohol. Laurier says more than three-quarters of those charges involved students who didn't attend the school. Shayne Turner, Water- loo's director of municipal enforcement, said the oper- ational plan to manage the crowds on Ezra and the neighbourhoods is "solid." "We are confident in it," he said. "It's about public safety and holding those accountable who do step above the law." Last week at city coun- cil, politicians voted to ask the province for more pow- er to change bylaws, allow- ing bylaw officers to ask for identification and connect- ing unpaid fines to the re- newal of driver's licences. Waterloo is carrying an estimated $330,000 in un- paid bylaw infractions. Some of this is owed by peo- ple ticketed by bylaw offi- cers for unlawful beha- viour. "We collect on some of the fines, but we don't col- lect on all of the fines," he said. Turner acknowledged that the fines could be more effective. Some prop- erty bylaws were amended this year and will be used for the first time since ho- mecoming. The amendments allow bylaw officers to declare an emergency when people are partying on buildings such as garage rooftops, or there are excessive crowds on decks. Waterloo will also have additional bylaw officers working on Sunday in a partnership with the City of Kitchener. OFFICIALS GEARING UP FOR WATERLOO'S BIG ST. PATRICK'S DAY BASH, AGAIN LIZ MONTEIRO lmonteiro@therecord.com LOCAL SIGN UP FOR OUR WEEKLY NEWSLETTER AT WATERLOOCHRONICLE.CA