St. Patrick’s Day isn’t technically until Tuesday, but neither that fact nor cold weather was enough to deter students from celebrating the holiday this weekend.
Regional police took to social media Saturday afternoon, posting about large crowds gathering in the area of Marshall Street and Regina Street North, asking people to avoid the area.
A large police presence was expected due to the notoriety of the unsanctioned street party in the region. Last year, the municipality sought to tackle the party through a court injunction through the Superior Court of Justice.
This year, however, they opted to use the City of Waterloo’s nuisance bylaws, which were updated to allow officers to take preemptive steps for events like the unsanctioned party. A Community Safety Event was also declared ahead of the weekend.
While it’s known police were on scene, it is not currently known how many tickets were issued during Saturday’s gathering, or if there were any arrests or injuries as a result.
570 NewsRadio has reached out to regional police for information and will continue to follow the story ahead of expected gatherings on Tuesday.
Other measures to tackle the gathering included fencing off sections of Ezra Avenue, where the gathering has been in previous years, as well as an on street parking ban for all day Saturday in the area. A parking ban will be in place for Tuesday as well.