PELHAM - While Summerfest may be a fun time for visitors, it is more of a nightmare for residents who live nearby, says a couple whose home is near the south end of the festival site on Pelham Street and Pelham Town Square.
For Mary Beth and Bob Tucker, Summerfest means four days of noise, traffic and crowds that is adversely affecting their quality of life and that of their neighbours, they said. And the Town, Mary Beth said, doesn’t seem concerned.
“Quite frankly, although an awful lot of people talked about how it adversely affected them, they were clearly, patently ignored.”
The noise coming from the festival is relentless, she said.
“They start the noise Thursday night. They started again at 10 o’clock Saturday morning. Then when (the emcee) turned his mic on and started to talk – ‘Good morning, Pelham!’ – I could hear his words, like he was standing (here) talking to me this way. Well, you're talking to an audience that's within a few 100 feet of you. It really doesn't need to broadcast four blocks.”
Leah Letford, communications specialist for the Town, said that if there are concerns, residents in the area can make their feelings known through an online post-event survey.
“The survey has a section for attendees to provide specific suggestions and feedback,” Letford wrote in an emailed response to inquiries from PelhamToday. “All the surveys are reviewed to compile comments and suggestions, which are used when planning the next year of the festival.”
The Tuckers are aware of the survey, and they have filled it out.
“I also encouraged the various other people we've talked to over time to fill the questionnaire out, talk to their local councillor, whoever it might happen to be,” Mary Beth said.
There are also problems, they say, on evenings when there are concerts at the Fonthill Bandshell in Peace Park. In that case, it’s not so much the noise, but the crowds and parking issues brought about by the concerts and the food trucks brought in for what is known as the Town’s Summer Chill series.
“You can't get up the street,” Bob said. “And, I'm going to tell you, probably 95 percent of (people attending the events) don't live here.”
You can't get up the street
It’s the same deal – only worse – with Summerfest, he said. The closure of Pelham Street means more traffic coming down streets like College, turning in from Station Street in search of parking. Residents are almost trapped in their homes. Businesses are also hurt, he said.
“These are your core businesses that people use in this town all the time, like the hardware store, like the bakery, like all of those things,” Bob said. “Going to the drug store during it is a problem if you want to drive.”
He appreciated that the Town placed no parking signs on the north side of College Street but that doesn’t stop a steady stream of cars coming through looking for a place to park.
“When it's really busy, you take your life in your hands getting out of the driveways on the street.”
Letford, meanwhile, said she wasn’t aware of any complaints received during Summerfest.
“Typically, attendees' comments during the festival are very positive,” she wrote.
Live bands and entertainment are a sought-after part of the festival, and the on-site (audio-video) team monitors music levels,” she said.
The Town is actively trying to mitigate traffic and help with parking for the event, she added.
“Parking and shuttles were key elements highlighted on the new website, and the number of festival attendees who used active modes of transportation, such as biking, saw a marked increase over the last few years of the festival,” Letford said, adding that shuttles to and from the Meridian Community Centre to the festival site were “consistently used throughout the event.”
One bright light, Mary Beth said, was that the garbage being strewn about was less of an issue than in previous years.
“I will say this year the garbage issue was not at all – at this end anyway – anywhere near as bad as it has been.”