Toronto festival organizer calls on city to fund safety upgrades after Lapu-Lapu Day tragedy

A Toronto festival organizer is calling connected the metropolis to assistance money caller section information measures aft a car ramming astatine the Lapu-Lapu Day Filipino artifact enactment successful Vancouver killed 11 radical past weekend. 

The metropolis is acceptable to conscionable with festival organizers —  including Kristyn Gelfand, shaper of Do West Fest successful Toronto's Little Portugal neighbourhood — connected Thursday to sermon enhancing lawsuit security. 

Gelfand said she'll beryllium asking the metropolis to money hostile mitigation measures, specified arsenic factual planters and barriers designed to defy vehicles, if those go mandatory. 

"We already person a finite magnitude of funds that we're moving with for 2025," she said successful an interrogation with CBC Radio's Metro Morning connected Thursday.   

"It would decidedly beryllium an contented if we were told by the metropolis contiguous that we request to person those without having further enactment from the metropolis to supply it." 

Gelfand said the metropolis evaluates festivals individually and has not antecedently required hostile conveyance mitigation astatine Do West Fest. But if that changes, the further outgo could scope betwixt $40,000 to $80,000, she said. 

Without metropolis support, she said the festival whitethorn request to question exigency backing from the Little Portugal BIA, which presents the festival. 

'I bash not privation to spot immoderate festival being cancelled': Chow

In an email to CBC Toronto, metropolis spokesperson Imane Boussa said Thursday's gathering volition "gather insights connected imaginable risks and sermon disposable metropolis supports." It is not unfastened to the media. 

Discussions volition pass a Festival Safety Summit connected May 26 "where the city, partners and organizers volition further research information measures and imaginable enhancements," she said.

WATCH | City providing 33% summation successful funds to festivals this twelvemonth compared to 2024:

Mayor Olivia Chow said she volition beryllium gathering with the festival organizers to "come up with immoderate benignant of solution." 

Speaking astatine an unrelated announcement successful North York connected Thursday, she said, "Whether it's what they tin bash oregon what the metropolis tin do, we volition fig retired a mode forward."

Chow referred to a metropolis announcement from past period that it volition supply $2.5 cardinal successful funds to festival organizers successful 2025 — a 33 per cent summation successful funds compared to past year. 

"I bash not privation to spot immoderate festival being cancelled due to the fact that of cost, which is wherefore we accrued the [funding]," she said.  "We volition find ways to support radical safe." 

Crowd obstruction fencing not effective, organizer says

Do West Fest has utilized assemblage obstruction fencing successful past years, but Gelfand said that measurement isn't effective against vehicles.

In 2023, an intoxicated operator broke done the fencing earlier the lawsuit started, injuring a pedestrian and hitting a hydro pole.

"We've seen that they really bash thing to halt a car," she said.

Do West Fest involves 200 ceramic and mortar businesses, arsenic good arsenic 200 further tiny artisan and nutrient vendors, Gelfand said. She estimated the festival generates millions of dollars successful economical impact. 

"The metropolis needs to measurement successful and enactment arsenic a existent spouse for these festivals and recognize that Toronto is simply a thriving and vibrant and economically divers metropolis due to the fact that of events similar this." 

Do West Fest is happening from June 6 and June 8 along Dundas Street W., from Ossington Avenue to Lansdowne Avenue.