Strawberry Festival organizers ask council to restore curb vendor layout and extend setup window

Thorson Ramey, the Queen's director for the London Strawberry Festival, told the London City Council on Feb. 5 that changes to the festival's street layout and the city's 72-hour closure rule have created safety and access problems for attendees and first responders and make setup difficult for vendors.

Ramey said the festival appreciates the additional footprint the city granted this year but remains concerned with last year's new mid-street booth layout, which places vendors back-to-back in the center of a 45-foot street and, she said, produces tripping hazards and impedes police patrols. "The vendor booths now create a barrier making it more challenging for officers to monitor their festival grounds," Ramey said. She told council members that vendor cords and hoses crossing the roadway remain an accessibility problem for elderly attendees and people with mobility devices and that the protective boxes used over cables are bulky and hard to navigate.

Ramey urged returning most vendors to the curb so the center lane remains more consistently clear for emergency…