Fredericton residents upset over Black Crowes, Live summer festival

A June concert featuring the Black Crowes and Live has residents concerned about security and parking, and many wanted more say in the decision to hold the outdoor concert at the downtown Fredericton venue.

About 70 people packed inside a town hall meeting on Thursday night to raise their concerns about the summer rock festival, which is planned for the Fredericton Exhibition grounds.

For residents such as Susan Merill, the concern about the concert is noise. Merill said other events on the exhibition grounds have kept her awake in the past.

"The speakers are going to be that much larger ... the noise is going to be, I feel, overwhelming," she said.

The FredRock concert meeting was organized after residents felt they hadn't been included in the planning process for the three-day rock festival for the June 19 weekend.

The promoters, city officials and police were all at the meeting and tried to smooth concerns by telling residents that extra police will be on hand and measures will be taken to keep everyone safe.

Promoters showed up on Thursday night and had to deal with a room of many unhappy residents.

Susan Baker, who lives on Rookwood Avenue, said planners should have to go through a planning committee in the future to avoid similar situations.

"So that the neighbourhoods are represented and that their representative councillors know that these applications are being made and then they can go to the community," she said.

The concert promoters were able to please a few people in the hall, who were excited about the concert in their backyard.

Edward Mansfield, who lives on O'Dell Avenue in the downtown area, said there needs to be more events for young people in the city.

"I think it's important to give the event a chance and see how it works out and work towards a good event," Mansfield said.