London Strawberry Festival organizers ask council to revise new street layout, raise safety and setup concerns

Clarsen Ramey, the Queen’s director for the London Strawberry Festival, told City Council on Feb. 6 that the festival’s volunteer organizers appreciate the city’s expanded footprint this year but have “concerns regarding the new street setup implemented last year.”

Ramey said the configuration puts elderly attendees, parents with strollers and people with mobility issues at risk because cords and hoses cross the roadway and the protective boxes used last year are “too bulky.” She asked the council to allow vendors to set up Wednesday evening rather than force all set-up within the 72-hour window that currently starts three days before the event. “Allocating only 72 hours forces vendors to set up the same day as the festival opens, creating safety issues and confusion among attendees,” Ramey said.

The festival representative also questioned the city’s emergency-access assumptions for the downtown layout. Ramey said her measurements show vendor booths would occupy about 25 feet of a 45-foot-wide street, “leaving 21 feet of clearance for emergency vehicles,” and she asked how fire trucks would stage if cars were parked at curbs during an emergency.

The council and festival organizers discussed additional operational issues: stage placement, time of street closures, detour signage and whether vendor booths should be on the curb rather than down the center of the road. Ramey said festival organizers have collected examples and fire-code references from other Ohio towns and offered diagrams to council. “We can definitely draw out a specific layout that we would like to see,” she said, and offered to email a formal proposed layout to each council member.

Council members and staff said they had already met with safety services and festival leaders during internal committee meetings. Council member comments noted that the police chief and fire chief had previously provided written concerns and that those comments were incorporated in the draft ordinance. Councilman Greg Eads said the draft had been through multiple internal reviews and that additional amendments could be made before third reading. Safety Service Director Bill Long told council he preferred moving festivals to Cowling Park rather than keeping them on the downtown streets, a position he reiterated at the public-service committee level.

Several downtown business owners and council members said they previously completed surveys: one survey of downtown business owners found many responders considered the prior curb-style layout detrimental to their businesses. Others said moving some events to Cowling Park increases capacity for other activities and reduces downtown congestion.

Council members asked organizers to coordinate further with the police chief, fire chief and street superintendent and to deliver a written, specific proposal to the council. Ramey agreed to prepare a formal layout and to work with city staff to clarify detour signage responsibilities for state routes. Festival leaders were told the ordinance amending City Code 8-74 remains on council for additional review and could be amended before final readings.

Council’s next steps include further meetings in committee and potential amendments to the ordinance. Festival organizers were encouraged to attend the next public-service committee meeting and to deliver a written layout and the safety documentation they referenced to the chiefs of police and fire.

The festival representative closed by reminding council the Strawberry Festival is a 30-plus-year downtown tradition and asking the council to consider adjustments so the event remains safe and accessible.