KINGSTON, Jamaica— The police are advising the public of traffic changes in preparation and hosting of the annual Fireworks on the Waterfront in downtown Kingston which will be hosted by the Urban Development Corporation (UDC) on New Year’s Eve.

At 4:00 pm on Sunday, December 31 the following intersections including Port Royal Street will be closed:

– Church Street

– King Street

– Orange Street

– Princess Street

– West Street

– Pechon Street

– Ocean Boulevard

Two-way traffic will however be permitted as follows to facilitate the entrance and exiting to and from parking areas only, from the:

– intersection of Church Street and Port Royal Street to JCC Multi-storey Car Park

– intersection of Orange Street and Port Royal Street to Orange Street Multi-storey Car Park

– intersection of Princess Street and Port Royal Street to Digicel Car Park

– intersection of West Street and Port Royal Street to West Street Car Park

“The UDC will be enacting a park and ride system where transportation will be provided to and from the venue. The parking and shuttle locations are Heroes Circle transported to the Bank of Nova Scotia. Individuals are being advised to follow the said instructions and park in the established areas as vehicles found outside these areas creating obstruction may be towed,” the police said.

The police also warned that patrons with large backpacks will not be allowed into the venue, everyone exiting and entering the venue will be subjected to a detailed search and some areas will have strict access control and as such no firearms will be allowed into the venue.

“It is a criminal offense to leave one’s firearm in a negligent manner that may results in it being stolen,” the police advised.

The police also noted that during the staging of the annual Fireworks on the Waterfront, hundreds of people usually converge along the Palisadoes main road to view the fireworks. This often leads to traffic congestion and disruption to the traffic flow along that corridor.

In order to mitigate against this risk, the police will implement the following measures:

– No parking will be allowed along the right side of the Norman Manley Highway leading to the airport (from the Harbour View roundabout to the Airport roundabout) between the hours of 5:00 pm and 12:00 midnight.

– Controlled parking will be at designated locations on the left side only. There will be no parking in the vicinity of where the cables are located.

– No vending will be allowed along the strip.

“There will be strict enforcement of the Road Traffic Act. Motorists are being asked to comply with the instructions of the police,” the news release from the police added.