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 access. She offered the council the festival's measurements and diagrams, and said the group's calculations show vendors would occupy about 25 feet of a 45-foot street, leaving roughly 21 feet for emergency vehicles. "Putting our festival food vendors back on the curb will indeed still give you 21 feet of room down the center for emergencies if need be," she said. Ramey also said the majority of food trucks the festival uses measure about 12 feet and that the new layout's center five-foot pedestrian corridor with 20-foot edge clearance on curves would be difficult to accommodate with typical truck sizes.

The festival asked council to allow earlier vendor setup, saying the 72-hour window forces many vendors to set up the same morning the festival opens. Ramey said an earlier setup window 'Wednesday evening'would reduce vehicle-and-pedestrian conflicts and safety risks. At the meeting, festival representatives said they would be willing to provide a written curb-focused layout and supporting materials, including examples from other Ohio festivals and guidance on clearances.

Business owners and event supporters who spoke during public comment also urged council to restore curb placement of vendors. One speaker who said he surveyed downtown businesses reported that 63 respondents called curb placement better for local retail.

Councilwoman Shannon Treanor, sponsor of the draft ordinance updating festival rules (Ordinance 111-25, amending codified ordinance section 8.74), said the proposal has been discussed with public safety staff and with festival organizers for months. "This has been a year in the making," Treanor said, listing meetings, business surveys and safety-department input as part of the record. Treanor told the council she had sought signoff from the police and fire chiefs on the layout language; she also relayed that the street superintendent preferred to move festivals to the park rather than downtown.

Council discussion at the Feb. 5 meeting focused on two central issues: where vendors should be placed during the event and how long the city should allow street closures for setup and takedown. Festival organizers proposed allowing setup beginning Wednesday evening (they asked for roughly 78 to 84 hours of closure as a preferred range); some council members and staff indicated they would accept a modest extension from 72 hours but wanted precise language and safety confirmation from chiefs. Treanor said the draft ordinance already includes safety-service requirements and two stage-placement options in response to organizer input.

No final vote was taken on the festival ordinance on Feb. 5. Council members left Ordinance 111-25 on the agenda for further review and asked staff and festival organizers to exchange a written curb-layout plan and for safety chiefs to review any amended layout before the next reading. The council indicated that any amendment increasing permitted closure hours would be considered before final passage.

What's next: Council asked festival organizers to submit a detailed, curb-based layout to the fire chief, police chief and council prior to the next meeting. Ordinance 111-25 remained on the docket for additional readings and possible amendment; no adoption date was set.