By Chris Clarke
Despite the 51,000 plus people that washed into Lansdowne Park for the Grey Cup last Sunday, there were few, if any, problems with traffic gridlock in the downtown core.
“All things considered, when you have this many people heading towards the same place, there’s concern for pedestrian safety,” said Const. Craig Roberts, one of dozens of city police directing traffic around the city. “But everything went well.”
Roberts and the rest of the traffic enforcement team directed a constant back up of traffic on Sunday along Bank Street from 10 a.m. until 10 p.m. Officers hand directed traffic due to barriers that closed Bank Street from Fifth Street to Sunnyside Avenue.
The officers filtered buses and taxis, the only vehicles allowed to the area, through the barriers. It was one of five major road closures including Laurier Avenue and Queen Elizabeth Driveway.
Const. Roberts said the traffic officers were ready for any complications because they handle Canada Day celebrations every year, where crowds dwarve last Sunday’s legion.
After the game, a steady march of football fans turned the streets of Glebe and Centretown into their own personal sidewalk as they marched far into the downtown core to retrieve their vehicles.
At Strathcona Avenue and Bank Street, the relentless, moving mass turned the street into an impromptu cul-de-sac, forcing back an opposing tide of taxis dispatched to pick up the very people that were turning them away.
Within half an hour of the game ending, taxis were almost impossible to find.
Police on motorcycles provided an escort to a set of early buses headed downtown, honking at the pedestrians walking in the middle of the road. However, the exodus of football fans overwhelmed the street, and the early buses, bursting with passengers, were reduced to the same pace as the walking mass.
On Bank Street bridge, 10 OC Transpo buses lined up in each direction, rumbling off diesel fumes while tired stadium workers tried to empty the area of people so they could begin clean up.
Because officials closed off the Lansdowne parking lot, others took advantage of this opportunity to earn some money.
Centretown and Glebe elementary and secondary schools used the parking ban as an opportunity to fundraise by renting out the parking spots on school property. Corpus Christi, Glebe High School, Middlesex Public and a host of other schools parking lots were full by kick-off.
By 2 p.m. Sunday, Glashan Public School was renting out spots for $40, a full 16 blocks from Lansdowne. However, a large portion went toward liability insurance.
Some fans, specifically season-ticket holders, were upset they couldn’t park near the stadium. Because no one could park at Lansdowne, they say a football tradition was ignored: the tailgate party.
“If you’re going to be a football fan, you’ve got to have a tailgate party,” said Nick Fabiano, a Renegades season-ticket holder for three years. “Why can’t I park my car this one time?”
His brother, Joe Fabiano, said the tradition was ignored due to corporate interests. “Because, whoever the stakeholders are needed to make a buck,” he said.
Nevertheless, the lack of tailgate parties didn’t dampen football fans from drinking in the streets.
The parking lot of The Beer Store, a block away from Lansdowne, was full of revellers, drinking beer despite the fact the store was closed. Due to provincial legislation, beer stores must close by 4 p.m. on Sundays.
The only remarkable thing of the Grey Cup traffic control was the lack of problems, accidents, and traffic jams.