Victoria_Park_Re port Final.pdf - City of Charlottetown

Final Report • June 2013
VICTORIA PARK COMPREHENSIVE MASTER PLAN
Event Management
Due to the prominent role that Victoria Park plays within the community, there will be
continued interest to hold special events within the park’s boundaries. These events
are important to enriching the lives of the citizens of Charlottetown, facilitating public
enjoyment and creating connections to the larger community. As well, activities and
special events within the park provide significant opportunities to strengthen tourism,
culture, recreation, education and makes good economic sense. There is an opportunity
to diversify the site’s offer to respond to different audience’s needs and interests
attract new visitors, but also maintain a respect for the character and values of the
park and engender a deeper connection to this special place.
Guidelines for holding events in Victoria Park to assess whether an activity can
take place in the park is an important decision-making tool for park staff and event
organizers. This will ensure that Victoria Park has the capacity to host these events,
activities and events are well coordinated, and that they will be run smoothly and
safely for all those attending.
Defining what constitutes a special event will trigger a special event assessment. These
triggers can include, but are not limited to:
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The number of attendees (> 250 people)
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Whether external infrastructure is required to hold the event
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Whether the event will impacts on traffic flows, road closures or will tax municipal services.
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Whether liquor will be served.
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Whether the event is intended to generate a profit for organizers.
Victoria Park Capacity for Large Events
Although Victoria Park is a desirable location for major events, that does not mean that
all events are suitable for the Park. When evaluating the appropriateness of events for
the Park, the guiding principles must be reviewed, as ultimately it is important that no
single use occur that compromises the broad community interests and values. As such,
the following event capacity recommendations should guide decision-making:
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Events should be limited to the meadows, or other active zones of the park. At no time should an
event compromise the ecological (forested) zone of the park.
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For safety, the occupant capacity for an event should be the lower of either the occupant density
or exit capacity.
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The occupant density is the number of people that can safely occupy the open space available,
based on a figure of 1.0 square metre / person.
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The space available for the occupant density should not include space allocated for staging, backof-house,
washrooms, food or alcohol sales, or other service areas.
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The Province of Prince Edward Island outlines guidelines for food services at special events, and
this includes required numbers of toilets and hand-washing stations.
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The exit capacity is the number of people that can safely be evacuated from the site if necessary,
given the available exits. Exit capacity assumes that the site must be clear within 5 - 10 minutes,
at a rate of 140 people per 2.0 metre wide exit, per minute. Exits should ideally be 2.0 metres
wide at a minimum.
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The season of the event should be considered when evaluating the proposal. For example,
events in early spring or late fall could increase the likelihood of damage to the grass of the
Meadows.
Under the Provincial Guidelines for Food Services at Special Events, a 10 hour event
with a peak crowd of 10,000 people and no alcohol will require 68 washrooms and 20
hand-washing stations. This may require up to 1000 square metres of surface area. Any
alcohol service will increase the washroom requirement by 13%.
Special events in Victoria Park have the potential to benefit the community, as well as
providing a source of income for the City. However, these short term benefits must not
outweigh the long term management objectives for the Park. The City has a new, large
scale event venue that is available to host significant events that may not be compatible
with the Community’s vision for Victoria Park.
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