RCMP 'very grateful' for a safe Cavendish Beach Music Festival weekend

Preparing for 60,000 people at a weekend music festival takes planning and comes with concerns, says P.E.I. RCMP Cpl. Gavin Moore.

But there were no serious incidents at the Cavendish Beach Music Festival over the weekend, Moore said.

"This is really like a small city when you get this many visitors and Islanders all coming out to the concert," he said.

"Overall there were no serious incidents and we're very grateful for a safe concert."

There were the expected minor incidents, he said, including theft, fender benders, and impaired driving.

Preventing impaired driving around the festival was a major initiative, he said. For the second year, the RCMP had checkpoints in place where all drivers stopped had to provide a breath sample.

"The goal here is not to catch as many impaired drivers as possible. It's really that deterrence effect," Moore said.

"We know that when people make that poor decision to drive impaired, part of that process of making that decision is the thought of 'will I get caught.'"

The checkpoints were announced in advance. Similar initiatives have proven to be an effective tool across Canada and in other countries, he said.

New this year is a plan for traffic after the festival is over.

"Last year we determined that there was a lot of issues with traffic, with people leaving the Island the day after the concert," said Moore.

This year RCMP are co-ordinating with the Department of Transportation to help traffic move over Confederation Bridge to the mainland more smoothly.