Thousands gather, close streets near Cal Poly during St. Patrick’s Day festivities, police say

A crowd of 4,000 people — mostly Cal Poly students — closed down streets near the university’s campus in the early hours of Saturday in celebration of St. Patrick’s Day, the San Luis Obispo Police Department said.

Police began responding to loud party calls around 4 a.m. in the neighborhoods adjacent to Cal Poly’s campus, which resulted in several large parties ending, the department said in a news release.

But that didn’t stop the partying as it moved to the streets.

People leaving shut-down parties gathered at the intersection of Hathway Avenue and Bond Street, eventually growing to a crowd of 4,000 people, police said.

Police closed the intersection to vehicle traffic at 7 a.m. and enforced open container and public urination laws “while maintaining positive interactions with the crowd,” the release said.

The crowd dispersed and the intersection reopened at 10:30 a.m., according to police.

The Police Department increased staffing and collaborated with the Cal Poly University Police Department on Friday and Saturday to coordinate response throughout the weekend.

The bars in downtown San Luis Obispo opened early at 6 a.m. Friday and crowds were steady all day with no major incidents, according to the release.

In total, police issued 47 open container citations, 21 noise citations, 17 public urination citations and two unruly gathering citations between March 17 and 18, according to the release. Meanwhile, eight people were arrested for public intoxication, four were arrested for DUIs and three for minor in possession, police said.