THE TALL Ships festival is expected to attract more than 500,000 spectators this week with some 200 gardaí policing the event each day in Waterford city.
At the mayor’s office in city hall yesterday, Supt Chris Delaney and Sgt Gavin Hegarty said gardaí would be drafted in from surrounding counties such as Wexford, Kilkenny, Carlow and Tipperary to help police the four-day event, which opens on Thursday and is the biggest outdoor festival in the country this year.
Bryan Ferry, the Waterboys and Sharon Shannon are the respective headlining acts in free outdoor concerts at the Bolton Street car park on Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings.
Supt Delaney yesterday said that “public safety” has been of “top priority” in relation to Garda management plans for the festival. “We have been planning for this event over 18 months – it really is a family event.”
The Quay and some surrounding streets, along with Rice Bridge, will be closed. Access to the bridge will be allowed on the mornings up to Sunday. Anyone looking to use the bridge on the mornings of the festival must do so before 7am, while those wishing to use the train services at Plunkett Station will be allowed use the bridge up to 7.30am.
Those looking to commute to south Kilkenny or to Co Wexford via the N25 can do so by crossing the new River Suir Bridge to the N25 bypass. Tolls remain in place on the bypass as the operators, the Celtic Roads Group, failed to agree terms with Waterford City Council in recent weeks over the possibility of suspending the fee during the tall ships.
Where practical, the car ferry at Passage East is another option open to commuters travelling to Co Wexford. Fiddown Bridge is also a possibility, but is not suitable for large volumes of traffic.
Concern has been expressed by some locally in relation to access to the N25 and the M9, while gardaí say the closure of Rice Bride is necessary for safety reasons. Sgt Hegarty yesterday agreed this was “an issue”. A “clearly signed” traffic cordon will operate around the city from Thursday to Saturday and access will be denied without an official permit, said Supt Delaney. Exceptions are buses, taxis, emergency services and “vehicles displaying valid disabled parking permits”.
Three park-and-ride sites will operate, two at Newrath and one at Carrickphierish. Up to 50 buses, free up to 10am, will run continuously from the parking sites to designated drop-off points in the city, while 30,000 parking spaces are available.
The Tall Ships Races are presented by the Polish city of Szczecin, and organised by Sail Training International.
Mayor of Waterford city Cllr Mary Roche, whose husband works for Sail Training International, said – at her last official event yesterday – “I think it’s fair to say that, good and all as 2005 was; this year is going to be far better.”
