By Linda Seida, Staff Writer
LAMBERTVILLE — About 35,000 visitors poured into the city for the two-day Shad Festival early this month.
But local police recently said much of the celebration was orderly with one jewelry theft from a vendor and only minor problems requiring their attention.
If Police Director Bruce Cocuzza could have asked for something better, it would have been offsite parking to relieve the traffic congestion, he said.
”For the most part, it was wild but manageable,” he said. “There were some congestion and delays.”
Past festivals offered a shuttle service for visitors who parked on the outskirts of Lambertville, and it contributed to a more orderly traffic flow. The 30th annual Shad Festival on April 30 and May 1 did not offer the shuttle service, he said.
”There are a limited number of parking spaces,” Director Cocuzza said. “It’s preferable to park on the outskirts of the city.”
He said he would recommend a shuttle and outlying parking lots to the Lambertville Area Chamber of Commerce next year when the 31st festival rolls around. The chamber puts on the award-winning event each year with the help of corporate sponsors.
”Traffic is always a problem because you have a festival with thousands of people,” yet traffic still is moving along the main streets where the vendors and entertainment events are held, Mr. Cocuzza said. All in all, the weekend event was successful and basically peaceful, he said.
”It was busy, the weather was great,” he said. “The weather was pretty much picture perfect both days. We had a good, strong flow of people both days, a lot of traffic.”
May 1 at 12:27 p.m., a theft was reported by a vendor, Pam Cutler Designs, of Yardley, Pennsylvania. Someone took two Austrian crystal bracelets valued at $138 from the vendor’s North Union Street tent, according to police. Officer Michael Gramlich, who had been on bike patrol, responded.
”Somebody must have walked by and quickly swiped the bracelets and kept right on walking without being seen,” police said the vendor told them because she wanted the theft documented. She’d been helping a customer when the theft occurred, according to police.
The lack of sufficient parking led to four complaints from residents. One complaint concerned a vehicle parked in a resident’s driveway, earning the driver a ticket.
Another complaint turned out to be an error. A vehicle had been left in a parking lot, but the driver “actually had the authority to park there,” Mr. Cocuzza said.
The theft of a bicycle also occurred April 30 along the Delaware and Raritan Canal towpath, according to police. A 54-year-old city man decided to leave his bicycle and go for a walk, leaving the bike propped against a fence. When he returned, it was gone.
Also that weekend, police said, there were three minor motor vehicle accidents, three DUIs and three minor calls for EMS services.
The event requires police overtime, with the bill paid for by the chamber, according to the Police Department.
”We brought in all available police officers,” Mr. Cocuzza said.

