Since its inception, “Car Week” has evolved from being just a handful of events during the span of a week, to tens of public and private events held over the span of a week and a half on the peninsula. As a result, the peninsula has seen an increase in visitors and residents have been vocal about the resulting traffic, parking, and speedy or reckless driving issues.
This year “Car Week” took place from Friday August 12 through Sunday, August 21.This After Action Report seeks to discuss traffic and safety impacts to Carmel-by-the-Sea during Car Week, as well as a breakdown of any issues with events held in the Village, namely Acura in the Park and Prancing Ponies, and to propose mitigation tactics to counter these effects for subsequent years.
During 2020 there were no Car Week events. In 2021 the State began allowing large-scale events again, but Concours on the Avenue was the only event held in the City. This year, 2022, was the first return to “normal” year on the Peninsula for Car Week since the pandemic.
2022 EVENTS HELD IN CARMEL-BY-THE-SEA
There were two permitted events held in Carmel-by-the-Sea this year: Acura in the Park and Prancing Ponies.
Acura in the Park
The Acura in the Park event, held on Tuesday, August 16, 2022 in Devendorf Park from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m, was previously a part of the larger Concours on the Avenue (COTA) event. COTA did not move forward this year due to the untimely passing of event organizer Doug Freedman. As previously stated this event was held in Devendorf Park. Ocean Avenue from Junipero Street to Mission Street, as well as Mission Street between Ocean and Sixth Avenues, were temporarily closed for event set-up which began at 12:00 a.m. Mission Street between Ocean and Sixth Avenues remained closed during the event. Because of an increase in event participants near the end of the event the event organizer requested an additional hour and this was granted by staff. Breakdown began promptly at 5:00 p.m. and there were no issues, safety or otherwise, overall with this event.
Prancing Ponies All Woman Car Show
The Prancing Ponies event was held Thursday, August 18, 2022 from 11:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. This is the 4th year this event was held in the City. Previously the event was held on Sixth Avenue between San Carlos and Lincoln Streets and Dolores Street from Ocean Avenue to the driveway of the Post Office. Because of the absence of the Tour d’Elegance - another large Ocean Avenue event, staff worked with the event organizer to move the event to Ocean Avenue for additional event visibility during Car Week. Ocean Avenue was closed from Junipero to San Carlos Street. Mission Street was also closed between Red Eagle Lane and Sixth Avenue. Event set-up began at 4:00 a.m. and event breakdown began at 3:30 p.m. and was completed by 6:00 p.m. This year, overall, the event ran smoothly having made the switch to Ocean Avenue.
There were several issues that arose during these two events and were promptly addressed/resolved:
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Event music was too loud, which was addressed during the event.
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Some of the participating vehicles were late arriving at the venue because they were caught in Pebble Beach Tour d’Elegance traffic as the Tour was returning from Big Sur.
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Additional volunteers/security were needed for help with staging vehicles and traffic control guiding vehicles out of the event venue at the end of the event.
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One of the event sponsors was handing out cannabis samples and the sponsor is currently under investigation for this activity by the DA’s office. This activity was not authorized by the City and the event organizer was unaware of the City regulations regarding cannabis as this is not a part of the special event permit review process.
2022 Car Week Concerns
Again, as in past years, Carmel-by-the-Sea was inundated with specialty vehicles known as “exotics”. Exotics are a group of exclusive and expensive high performance vehicles owned or rented by enthusiasts and members of car clubs. “Exotic” cars have a large following and can draw substantial crowds and car enthusiast videographers who produce videos and other content for display on the internet and social media sites. Subgroups of exotics enthusiasts also enjoy demonstrating the engine power and high performance capabilities of exotic cars and similar cars designed for street racing. These enthusiasts or groups have in the past taken over streets and intersections in towns and cities to conduct illegal street races or to engage in reckless driving behavior in events called “Sideshows”. Groups and enthusiasts sometimes use messaging platforms like Twitter, Snapchat, You Tube, and/or Facebook to post videos of reckless driving and illegal car show activities. They also utilize social media to post the intended location of street racing sites with the intent to draw crowds to be spectators to dangerous acts, including speeding and burnouts through intersections. These groups have come to Carmel-by-the-Sea in the past and continue to conduct illegal “Sideshow” events all over the country.
Due to previous illegal “sideshows” in Carmel-by-the-Sea during Car Week, the City and Police Department coordinated plans to close Ocean Avenue in the evenings to deter the take over of intersections on Ocean Avenue. Carmel-by-the-Sea has become known as a location where some of the most expensive and rare exotic cars are on display and drive the streets during car week. These vehicles have come into the Village in previous years, but not to the extent that occurred this year. The high end exotics were parked on display throughout Car Week and were here in our City the entire week. People visited the City during the day to see the cars parked throughout the City. In the evenings, between 6:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m. Thursday - Saturday, there was a dramatic increase in people who came to video or witness the cars cruising Carmel streets with the largest crowds and cars occurring on Friday and Saturday nights.
Unlike previous years, the high end exotic cars were parked in and around the downtown area prominently presented and displayed. Because the “normal” large scale car events were not taking place, it appears the exotic cars were able to take over in prominence which brought in more people to see them displayed and driven around the City. By Friday and Saturday, there were large groups of people in town all day to view the cars, and the crowds increased into the evenings as other local events concluded. In response to past activity, the Police Department was able to control and dissipate the crowds using planned staffing of additional personnel, planned closures of Ocean Avenue, engineered controls of traffic to alleviate cruising activities, and by utilizing mutual aid from neighboring agencies, including the traffic units from STOPP (Strategic Traffic Observation and Prevention Program) made up of units from Carmel, Monterey, Marina, and Salinas Police Departments.
During Car Week, the Police Department took a “No Tolerance” approach to dangerous driving by posting warning signs at the entrance to our Village. During the week, officers conducted 123 traffic stops for various violations including; Speeding, Exhibition of Speed, Reckless Driving, Registration Violations and Modified Exhaust. Of those traffic stops, 59 traffic citations were written for various violations. The Police Department also made two DUI arrests, and arrested another seven for other crimes including assault on a peace officer and malicious mischief for throwing rocks and hitting a police vehicle.
PLANNING FOR 2023
At the conclusion of Car Week, the Police Department made an evaluation of efforts and will be looking to re-evaluate traffic calming and engineered controls, staffing and planning of events, seek direction on how Car Week may be adjusted next year and in years to come, and evaluate best practices and implement changes to our planning and event management based on the expectations of Council, residents, and the business communities.
Some ideas for direction could include:
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Planning and developing a traffic/event action plan with established times for comprehensive closure of Ocean Avenue to seriously deter the cruising behavior that draws the exotics or similarly-minded car enthusiasts who come to Carmel to view and film the cars.
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Working with event organizers to ensure security and non-police staffing for their events so that the Police Department can reserve resources for the evenings or other times to ensure Village security and to ensure a timely emergency response.
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Working with regional and state law enforcement assets to monitor car events and social media for information on illegal car activities.
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Continuation of the “No Tolerance” approach to dangerous or illegal street activity.
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Consider increasing fines for certain violations of the Municipal Code during Car Week.
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Continuing to work with Peninsula L.E. partners in developing mutual aid responses for partner cities, including more planned resource sharing in the City.
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As part of a more comprehensive plan, creating and implementing additional signage and messaging through press, media, and social media to directly educate the public and potential visitors on Carmel-by-the-Sea event activities and plans for road closures and police enforcement of traffic and parking rules.
CONCLUSION
The two Car Week events this year were well-attended and, as noted, issues were minor and promptly addressed. Staff will be working with event organizers on these for future events.
Except for the small group disturbance on Thursday, there were no significant problems that occurred as a result of large-scale “SideShow” events or street takeovers. There was, however, a great number of people on Friday and Saturday nights who flooded downtown streets to view Exotic cars driving down and parking along Ocean Avenue. As a whole, these visitors were well behaved and did not create an out-of-control environment. All of the cruising activities and crowds dissipated within a short time of implementing the traffic controls which sent cars onto side streets and away from Ocean Avenue.
Continued planning and coordinating with City departments will continue to improve the safety and success of future Car Week events.