Police, staff outline Jazz Fest traffic and safety plans; final logistics to be set before next meeting

City staff and a police representative briefed the commission on planning for the upcoming Jazz Fest in Old Webster, describing traffic-management, officer staging and street-closure procedures. Police said officers will be present beginning late morning to clear parked vehicles and assist with street closures; officers will be staged in key locations and rotate through assignments during the event. Staff said no final determination was yet made about some vendor placements and whether certain booths would be moved to Gore. The commission discussed the timing of street closures and the placement of barriers and no-parking signs, which will start being posted about a week before the event. Staff and police also discussed crowd-movement concerns and proposed creating an unobstructed four-foot-wide central artery along the stage area so emergency personnel could reach a medical incident; organizers are testing options including cones and tape, though cost for heavy-duty tape was noted as a concern. No formal vote was recorded. Staff said they expect to have final operational details in coming weeks and will coordinate further with commissioners about traffic, vendor placement and volunteer marshals.