ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT
Date: May 10, 1995
TO: Vancouver City Council
FROM: Chief Constable, General Manager Engineering Services,
City Clerk and Directors of Social Planning and Risk
and Emergency Management, in consultation with the
Emergency Management Committee.
SUBJECT: Review of the Management of Large Events in the City of
Vancouver.
INFORMATION
Implementation plans, based on Council's approved strategy
for the management of unhosted large gatherings, have been
developed and are presented in this report for Council's
INFORMATION.
COUNCIL POLICY
In November, 1994 Council approved a general strategy for
addressing unhosted large gatherings on City property. Council
directed that staff report back in six months with detailed
implementation plans, based on that strategy.
PURPOSE
The purpose of this report is to present implementation plans,
based on Council's previously approved strategy, for managing
large unhosted gatherings in the City.
BACKGROUND
Following the riot in Vancouver last June Council approved a
four-month community based review, focused on preventing similar
disturbances in the future. From that review Council approved a
general strategy to address large unhosted gatherings on City
property. The strategy identified the need for detailed planning
around issues associated with event planning, security,
transportation management, and communications. The strategy
would be implemented, as necessary, pursuant to the City's
existing Emergency Management structure.
Over the past six months staff from the Police Department, the
Communications Division of the City Clerk's office, the
Engineering Department, and Social Planning have developed
detailed implementation plans which reflect the approved
strategy. This work has been coordinated through the Risk and
Emergency Management office, which will be responsible for
ensuring that the plans are updated regularly and become part of
the City's overall emergency plan.
While developing these plans, staff had the opportunity to be
involved in the Grey Cup planning process. Many of the actions
recorded in the plans were successfully implemented at that time.
The overall planning model for Grey Cup -- a team of multi-
departmental, multi-agency representatives engaged in regular
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strategy sessions to coordinate resources -- worked extremely
well. The team included representatives from: Police; Fire;
B.C. Ambulance; Engineering; B.C. Transit; B.C. Place Stadium;
R.C.M.P.; Vancouver Sheriff's Office; Communications Division,
City Clerk's Office; Risk and Emergency Management; and B.C.
Lions Football Club. The plans outlined in this report are
predicated on the continuation of this model.
The transportation management, event planning, and communications
plans are stand-alone checklists, designed to be implemented
quickly and easily by any staff who may be involved. Because
they contain contact names and numbers they are not reproduced,
but are summarized in the report. The Security plan is part of a
larger security strategy being developed by the police in
response to issues identified by their own review, the City's
review and the B.C. Police Commission's review. The actions
described will be reflected in police operational plans.
Overall, the plans address issues such as parking, removal of
street furniture, transit re-routing, barricades and signage, the
planning and positioning of outdoor entertainment, mechanisms for
communicating vital information before, during and after the
event, traffic diversion, Skytrain security, and alcohol
enforcement issues.
1. Transportation Management Strategy
Engineering is the lead department in this strategy to address
site issues related to both pedestrian and vehicle flow, in and
around the location of the event. It constitutes a checklist of
actions and contact names/numbers for such activities as setting
parking restrictions, removing vehicles, removing street
furniture (newspaper boxes, planters, benches etc.), transit re-
routing or re-scheduling, de-energizing trolley wires, erecting
barricades and signage, establishing site access and egress
routes for pedestrians
and emergency vehicles, establishing appropriate traffic signal
sequencing, and coordinating post-event street cleanup.
Engineering staff would liaise with Fire and Rescue Services
personnel to address site issues relative to potential fire
hazards. This strategy would be implemented in conjunction with
the police department's traffic management strategy and overall
coordination would be effected with Fire and Rescue Services as
well as B.C. Ambulance.
2. Event Planning Strategy
When large gatherings are anticipated, research suggests one way
to prevent trouble is to provide activities for the crowd. The
objective of the event planning strategy is to devise a
"cookbook" of ideas and contacts for planning outdoor
entertainment on short notice which targets youth, area residents
and families. Social Planning is the lead department in the
event planning strategy. This strategy identifies potential
outdoor sites in the downtown area where entertainment could be
provided and outlines the steps involved in arranging a site(s).
It describes how to arrange sound, staging, lights,
communications equipment, and onsite security. It provides
instructions for securing performers and provides entertainment
guidelines to ensure the desired audience is targeted. The plan
canvasses a variety of entertainment options and discuss how each
could be used to influence the nature of the crowd and event.
3. Communications Strategy
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The City review identified a need for a communications strategy
to communicate timely and accurate information prior to, during,
and following the event. The Communications Division of the City
Clerk's Department has developed a communications checklist of
possible information such as advisories about street closures,
transit schedules, on-site medical aid, planned entertainment,
and pedestrian access/egress routes.
The plan identifies potential sources of support for information
campaigns, depending on the nature of the event, and identifies
how the "Celebrate Safely" campaign can be initiated. A fax-out
system to all local and surrounding media outlets has been
developed and generic news releases and advertising scripts are
included.
4. Security Strategy
The Police Department is the lead department in the development
of a security strategy. The security issues identified by the
City's review were generally also identified by the B.C. Police
Commission's review and by the Police Department's own review.
The police have addressed security issues as part of a larger
response strategy. The security strategy identifies how the
issues identified will be addressed as part of police operational
plans.
The PNE Coliseum was identified as a feeder site to Robson Street
in the Stanley Cup riot and it was suggested that greater police
presence is needed at such sites. The new operating agreement
between the City and the PNE appears to have addressed this issue
by requiring the PNE to maintain the level of policing at
Coliseum events which is recommended by the Police Department.The
Police receive good cooperation on policing needs from the civic
theatres, B.C. Place Stadium, and the Trade and Convention
Centre. The new GM Place is bound, as a condition of its liquor
license, to consult with police and agree on the numbers of
police to be present at events.
Many people who participated in the City review suggested greater
police control of vehicular traffic in the downtown. The Police
Department's traffic management strategy was refined for Grey Cup
and a "downtown closure plan" was developed. This identifies
ingress/egress routes relative to different street closures. The
Police are continuing to develop a comprehensive traffic strategy
which will accommodate multiple traffic scenarios and tactics
which can be initiated to quickly and effectively divert traffic
from problem areas.
Another factor which emerged from the City review was the need
for a mechanism by which the police could address a large crowd.
The police have budgeted to purchase three public address
systems, one vehicular-mounted system and two portable ones. A
policy is being developed around verbal warnings, using these
systems.
A mechanism for communicating with local businesses has been
effected using the B.C. FACS system, an area-wide fax system
linked to businesses and institutions. A generic notification
has been prepared outlining measures businesses can take to
safeguard their property in advance of an anticipated gathering.
Adequate security in and around Skytrain stations was addressed
during Grey Cup through enhanced coordination among City Police,
B.C. Transit, and police from surrounding municipalities.
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Many alcohol related issues were identified in the review. As a
result of the multi-agency strategy meetings prior to Grey Cup,
liquor license inspectors, in conjunction with Police Hotel and
Cabaret liaison officers and fire inspectors visited licensed
premises in the days prior to the game to reinforce the "serving
it right" message. The police also sent a written message to
licensed establishments in the area. The Liquor Licensing Board
assigned additional inspectors to do spot inspections on game day
and inspectors were on duty at B.C. Place Stadium. Alcohol was
banned
entirely from Skytrain and additional security was deployed at
Skytrain stations. The police communicated a strong "zero
tolerance" message, in conjunction with the City's "Celebrate
Safely" campaign. The campaign message was reinforced by B.C.
Transit advertising and news media messages. Corporate financial
support for the campaign was received from B.C. Place Stadium and
the B.C. Lions Club. B.C. Place Stadium further by reducing the
size of the cups and limiting sales to two per customer. This
coordinated "team approach" to alcohol issues was effective and
will continue to be part of the planning strategy.
CONCLUSION
This report is intended to provide Council with a summary of the
detailed implementation plans which have been developed as part
of Council's approved strategy for managing large unhosted
gatherings on City property
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