Easter Crowd Overwhelms Irvine Park

The largest crowd since 1978 prompted Irvine Park officials to put up barricades about 11 a.m. Sunday to halt the incoming flow of automobiles. A park spokesman said an estimated 10,000 to 12,000 people turned out to enjoy the park on Easter Sunday.

The barricades, which are used to halt traffic into but not out of the park at the eastern end of Chapman Avenue, were removed about 4:30 p.m., Park Ranger Cornel Stinson said.

When the barricades went up, there were about 1,800 cars inside the park, which has adequate parking for only 1,350, he said. Those unable to drive in parked their cars along Chapman Avenue or Santiago Canyon Road and walked in, he said.

Easter typically attracts the largest holiday crowds to Irvine Park, which is located in an unincorporated area east of the City of Orange, Stinson said. But Sunday’s crowd was the largest Easter turnout since 1978, he said.