Lethbridge police are asking residents and visitors to enjoy Street Machine weekend responsibly and are reminding drivers to follow the rules of the road.
“Obviously the traffic is quite congested all weekend and we expect that. A lot of people come from out of town. It’s a big attraction to the city, which is a good thing,” said Brent Paxman, acting sergeant of the traffic response unit. “We are just asking that drivers obey the traffic laws, be courteous to each other and the spectators and have a fun, safe weekend.”
Paxman said there will be an increased police presence in the city over the weekend. He noted there were 158 tickets handed out during the event last year between Friday and Saturday nights.
“What we are looking for this weekend is any type of major traffic violation — stunting, racing, stuff like that that we are going to be cracking down on. That’s not something that we will allow on our streets because they are open to the public, there’s lots of spectators around,” he said. “It can go as far as just increased exhaust and window tint and no mud flaps, throws rocks into other people’s windshields, stuff like that.”
LPS is focusing on impaired driving as part of a province-wide initiative this month and Paxman said that will also be important this weekend. He said he expects Mayor Magrath Drive to be lined on both sides with spectators and vehicles. Even during COVID-19 restrictions, there was bumper to bumper traffic for the event, he said.
-With files from Ella Starling