Downtown residents say public urination — not noise — is top concern near Cowboys Music Festival

Calgary Herald

09-07-2025

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'At the end of the day, both our bylaw officers as well as Calgary police have the jurisdiction to enforce bylaws,' Wong said. 'When it comes to festival events, obviously there's more people on the streets and . . . you're gonna see more of this happening. But is that acceptable? No.
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'We have bylaws and we expect our bylaw enforcement and Calgary police to enforce it.'
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Wong noted Calgary police officers can take private contracts working off-duty shifts at events such as Cowboys Music Festival, but are 'still acting as police.'
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Brett Robertson, who lives on an upper floor overlooking Cowboys Park, said the music doesn't bother him. He said it's the aftermath, as crowds spill out of the festival, that's keeping him up at night.
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'I got to bed at 4 o'clock last night . . . it's been no sleep,' he said, adding: 'The thing that gets me is the people . . . (urinating) in the parking lot.'
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One floor down from Robertson, Mike Holloway echoed those concerns.
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'When you have people living in the basement and somebody (urinating) on their window — that's not right,' Holloway said. 'There's no one over here looking after this. There's no enforcement.'
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Tina Leslie, who lives on the ground floor, said she's seen multiple people urinate on her window since the festival began.
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'I heard it at first and I thought there's a water leak or something,' she said. 'I yanked the curtain open and I was faced with a penis. I was like, 'Do you mind?''
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She said the same thing happened the next day, with two men urinating on her window this time.
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Despite these encounters, Leslie said the festival has been good for the area overall, and she's been able to enjoy the music from a neighbour's balcony.
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'They've really kept it under control,' she said. 'It's great fun.'
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Young suggested a solution would be for festival organizers to provide more options for attendees to relieve themselves. 'I'd like to see them put a couple of (portable toilets) over here,' he said.
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Despite the frustration, some residents acknowledged that festival-goers may have few alternatives.
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'If you've gotta go, you've gotta go,' said Leslie.
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In a statement, the City of Calgary acknowledged disorderly behaviour near Cowboys Park during the festival, such as public urination, defecation and jaywalking.
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'We have proactive patrols around the area to deal with any social disorder which might arise,' the city said. 'We take all types of complaints very seriously and do encourage anyone with complaints/concerns to contact 311 or 911 if they are in immediate danger.'
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The festival's relocation to Cowboys Park has added new challenges for traffic and crowd management, the city said.
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'With the relocation of the Cowboys Music Festival tent, it has challenged us to stay agile, collaborate seamlessly and continue delivering exceptional service to Calgarians and visitors alike,' the city said. 'An event of this magnitude is no easy task, which has called for all hands on deck from our Emergency Management & Community Safety peace officer groups.'
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To help manage congestion, the city has implemented special traffic signal timings and nightly road closures. That includes closing 11th Street S.W. between 6th Avenue and 9th Avenue, and a left lane closure on 9th Avenue west of 11th Street.
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'There are also designated taxi and rideshare pickup zones for Cowboys on 10th Street and 8th Avenue to help improve access and reduce congestion,' the city said.