Pimisi Station unfit to handle substantial crowds in case of emergencies, police say
Bluesfest organizers anticipate Pimisi Station will be open throughout the festival, which kicks off Thursday evening, with daily crowds expected to be a fraction of the size of last week's Canada Day events at LeBreton Flats.
Catherine Morrison, Ottawa Citizen
Published Jul 05, 2023 • Last updated 19 minutes ago • 5 minute read
The Ottawa Police Service is defending the decision to restrict access to Pimisi Station on Canada Day, arguing that the station is unable to handle substantial crowds and lacks alternative escape routes in the case of emergencies.
In an email statement to this newspaper, police said there were several key factors to consider — such as geography, infrastructure and public safety — in the temporary closure of Pimisi Station and the alternative route for people with universal access requirements last weekend.
On July 1, OC Transpo said access to Pimisi Station was restricted “at the request of event organizers” to support crowd safety. Entry to Pimisi Station from Albert Street was reserved for customers with accessibility needs, with all other station entrances closed.
All trains bypassed Pimisi Station between 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. to clear lines and manage the crowd on Booth Street during the fireworks show. OC Transpo recommended that individuals take the train or a bus to Lyon Station to get to LeBreton Flats.
Police blamed the design of Pimisi Station on the closure, noting that, because it’s situated on “a lengthy bridge,” it does not facilitate the efficient handling of substantial crowds and lacks alternative escape routes for emergencies.
“This deficiency became evident during the Canada Day festivities in 2022 when a medical emergency occurred on the bridge, leading to a halt in pedestrian movement,” police said, noting that the force’s top priority on Canada Day is public safety. “Consequently, the safety of those stranded on the bridge, as well as the responding personnel and the distressed individual, was compromised.”
Police said OC Transpo agreed to designate Pimisi Station as an LRT stop for people with universal access requirements only “well in advance” of Canada Day.
“While they did not intend to restrict persons with accessibility needs from disembarking there, our agreed-upon security measures required screening at the station exit on Booth Street,” police said. “People without universal access requirements were redirected to the Albert Street corridor for ingress via Commissioner Street.”
The decision to implement a skip-stop was made to ensure that police could effectively maintain the Booth Street corridor for “mass egress” and emergency vehicle access to the site, if necessary, police said.
The force said the decision was made in collaboration with Canadian Heritage, OC Transpo and a crowd management consultant, given concerns about overcrowding during 2022 festivities.
“Given the expected larger crowds this year, it was crucial to mitigate potential risks and maintain public safety,” police said.
However, OC Transpo’s general manager, Renée Amilcar, said the transit agency was not responsible for the decision, but it was made in consultation with the City of Ottawa’s traffic services. Dominique Collin, director of issues management and ministerial services with the Department of Canadian Heritage, also said that department did not make the decision to close the station, adding simply it was “a public safety decision made by the appropriate authorities.”
Caroline Czajkowski, a spokesperson for the Department of Canadian Heritage, said approximately 20,000 people attended the Canada Day evening show and fireworks display at LeBreton Flats Park this year. In 2022, Czajkowski said the evening show and fireworks display was attended by approximately 33,000 people.
Police said there were factors that made safety plans difficult — including ongoing construction on Albert Street near its intersection with Booth Street — although police said issues would have been “considerably worse” had temporary restrictions and alternative routes not been implemented.
In the statement, police also acknowledged the inconvenience caused by the measures, apologizing for any difficulties people may have encountered during the day. They added that police must balance the “intricate dynamics” of managing large crowds with ensuring the safety of all attendees.
“The environment containing a large crowd must be set up and maintained in a manner to mitigate issues that could be caused by panic (real or perceived) or a severe weather event where crowds are leaving rapidly to seek shelter — which was fortunately avoided on Saturday thanks to our plans and early notification,” Police said, adding that their utmost priority remains the safety and security of all attendees at large events. “We continuously evaluate and refine our security measures to ensure the best possible experience for everyone involved.”
In response to a request from this newspaper for additional details, City of Ottawa Transit Services and the Ottawa Police Service issued a statement saying the city and its “event partners,” including OC Transpo, other city departments and the police, establish planning teams for major events.
The decision to temporarily close Pimisi Station to transit users from 8 p.m. to 10:05 p.m. was made to minimize lineups and manage overcrowding on and around Booth Street, not at the station itself, the statement said.
“Bluesfest and Canada Day are very different events and require distinct event management strategies,” it added. “Bluesfest is a ticketed event, with an expected number of attendees. Canada Day crowd numbers are unpredictable and can swell to more than 100,000 people.
“Pimisi Station is safe and will be fully operational for upcoming large events including Bluesfest. OC Transpo and OPS have been planning and preparing for Bluesfest and will be monitoring the event closely and will make adjustments as required to ensure the safe flow of people to and from the event site. Concertgoers can find information about their transit options for Bluesfest on OC Transpo’s website.
“The City of Ottawa, OPS, and other event partners are reviewing the event feedback and working collaboratively for future event planning.”
Joe Reilly, who works in media relations for RBC Ottawa Bluesfest, said his understanding was that Pimisi Station would be open throughout the festival. He added that there would be buses available to take overflow patrons from the festival to Tunney’s Pasture.
Reilly said the festival’s operations director had been meeting regularly with the police and with OC Transpo in the lead-up to the festival and would continue to do so during the event.
Last year, Reilly said the festival saw an overall attendance of between 250,000 to 300,000 people. This year, he said Bluesfest expects to see around 20,000 to 30,000 people on busy nights.
Given that no stations had to close last year, even on the festival’s busiest nights, Reilly said he expected Pimisi would remain open, though OC Transpo, police and the festival’s operation team would monitor the situation on a nightly basis and make changes as needed.
“We’re running as we did last year,” Reilly said. “It was crowded, but a very successful way to get people on and off our site even during super busy nights last year. We love public transit, we support it, we’re so happy that our patrons get to ride for free and come down here and avoid parking hassles and avoid congestion and ride public transit.”
https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-new...ubstantial-crowds-emergencies-police-say
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. My 30 minutes was from what I recall sitting in traffic - often not even moving, trying to leave CTC after Sens games. I suspect even with the current station, the experience leaving Bluesfest (a larger crowd than CTC) will be better than leaving a Sens game via a car...but we'll have to see what others say. I didn't see many complaints from last year.
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