No complaints following Jazz on the Lake
"The organisation of Jazz on the Lake and the follow-up was very well done; exactly how we'd like to see it every year," said Ward 117 councillor Tim Truluck.
The event at Zoo Lake, in past years, had left councillors and residents reeling in terms of organisation, road closures, and heaps of litter left by thousands of concert-goers.
Truluck and fellow ward councillor Amanda Forsythe said they had not received any complaints from residents either during or after the annual jazz concert.
“Parkview Community Policing Forum vice-chairperson Costa Vranas was proactive this year. He sent a message to residents before the event and told them a sound engineer would be on the ground during the concert. If they could hear music from their homes, it was probably due to the cold weather, which could affect how sound travels,” said Forsythe.
Truluck said that, apart from a few queries about road closures on social media platform Twitter and “a couple of moans” from residents who didn’t get their residents’ passes, the event ran smoothly.
“I think a big part of this was the new Metro police events manager, Tessa Amod. She’s obviously a professional, hands-on person, and was very active at the concert,” said Truluck.
The councillor said he made his way around the outer perimeter of road closures on the day, and said they worked “brilliantly”. Truluck said the high Metro police presence was welcomed.
“They manned every road closure and patrolled inside the concert area and around the lake. Officers also put a stop to illegal parking in the park. Metro police deserve credit for this. I also saw they were given lunch, it was nice to see they were looked after too. I was very impressed. This was the best organised Jazz on the Lake I’ve seen,” he said.
Truluck added that there had been no problem with the clean-up after the event.
City Parks spokesperson Jenny Moodley confirmed that work teams started the clean-up early and had done a sterling job.
Residents Judy Stockill and Arthur Mennigke said they thought this year’s concert attracted fewer people.
Neither were opposed to the road closures in the suburbs around Zoo Lake.
“I think it’s a little overkill, but I know the city council was concerned about people’s safety. If the closures weren’t in place, who knows what people might bring with them to the event,” said Stockill.
