Waterloo, Ont.’s university district was a sea of green on Saturday, despite legal efforts by authorities to discourage the large unsanctioned St. Patrick’s Day street party.
Ahead of the festivities, the city was granted a court injunction for any potential gatherings. It permitted officers with the Waterloo Regional Police Service to arrest and criminally charge any partiers who were deemed to be a nuisance.
The hope was this latest tactic would protect the safety of students and the community, while also limiting the impact on emergency services.
Students who showed up on Marshall Street did not seem phased by the court injunction.
“It was pretty similar to other years,” said one.
“I think there was a bit more of [a] police presence with the injunction,” said another. “They tried to scare everyone beforehand, so I think the street party started a lot later than it normally does, but that was really all.”
On Saturday, party-goers told CTV News they didn’t think anything – including legal action – could stop the annual street gathering.
“Injunction, schmunctions!” said one student.
“It scared us a little, but we’re still here,” another added. “We’re going to have a good time!”
“I just feel like they can’t catch us all,” argued a third. “I think there’s too many of us out here.”
Some students living on Marshall Street threw their own private house party.
“We were at our house most of the time, trying to keep people off our driveway and keep them from peeing on our house,” one explained. “Other than that, it was pretty good, and it felt pretty safe.”
The party continued into Saturday night, with many people making their way to nearby bars and restaurants along King Street.
Both police and bylaw officers returned to Marshall Street on Monday, which was officially St. Patrick’s Day, but the area was quiet. It was the same on Ezra Avenue, where fencing remained up, and Chancellor’s Way in Guelph, another area where parties have typically been held in the past.
The Guelph Police Service said they stepped up patrols over the weekend, but officers only ended up issuing a few tickets to partygoers.
In Waterloo, officials said a final tally from the weekend will be shared once the operational period, covered by the court injunction, wraps up. It is set to end Monday at midnight. In the meantime, the city confirmed both bylaw officers and regional police are still enforcing the injunction.
One student, who lives on Marshall Street, said she and her roommates were surprised to receive tickets on Monday morning – two days after the street party.
“We didn’t throw anything, no parties, no anything,” she told CTV News. “Then we got charged. Just because people were on our lawn.”
The student described Saturday’s event as “chaotic.”
“We kind of knew it going to be bad, but we took precautions that we weren’t going to have people over,” she said. “Obviously, it still got as bad as it did, so we couldn’t really control it anymore.”
CCTV cameras were also set up around the neighbourhood ahead of the event.
“I don’t know how effective the injunction really was, but I think they’re finding everyone now because they put cameras all along the street,” the student said. “I think they’ll find anyone if they really wanted to.”
