Close Swan St for AFL GF festival: traders

After being overrun by swarms of Richmond fans, the Swan Street Business Association wants the road nearby the MCG closed for every AFL grand final.

Tigers fans celebrate

Tigers supporters celebrate their team's grand final win along Swan Street in Richmond. (AAP)

After being overrun by thousands of Richmond fans at the weekend, traders say Swan Street should be closed for every AFL grand final, so businesses can truly cash in.

The street near the MCG was eventually closed by police on Saturday as revellers took over, celebrating the Tigers' win over Adelaide.

But no matter who is playing, the popular Richmond precinct always gets swarmed on grand final day, says Swan Street Business Association secretary Leanne Quinn.

"It would have been a great idea (to close it in advance) because it would have given the traders a whole week to apply for permits for extra outdoor seating," Ms Quinn told AAP.

It's an opportunity for the City of Yarra and the Swan Street traders to get together and see if the road could be closed in 2018 for a more formal festival, which she believes would also help with crowd control.

"No one drives in because there's nowhere to park and trams still run down Bridge Road," she said.

Members of the association walked down Swan Street on Sunday and apart from a few broken bottles, for the most part everyone was reasonably happy with how the weekend went, Ms Quinn added.

The council had extra street cleaning crews on all weekend to manage rubbish from the crowds.

"The festivities in Swan Street and Bridge Road were a great success," Yarra Mayor Amanda Stone said.

"The atmosphere was electric, and local bars, pubs and restaurants did a roaring trade over the whole weekend. Victoria Police has advised that crowds were generally well behaved."


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Source: AAP



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