ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Put the glow sticks down: A crackdown of rogue parties at the Sunshine Skyway Bridge is coming soon.
Deputies will make their presence known at the bridge's North Rest Area Park following the occasional weekend gatherings and raves at the site, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
“They come from all over the country, they come here because they heard about the Skyway bridge," said Tom Evans, who has been DJing at the raves for several years.
Evans claims the raves aren't like what people think.
"It’s not the raves in the 90s that you’ve heard of with the ecstasy and that stuff, it’s not like that," Evans said. "Artists from all over come in and they show what they can do and it’s all free.”
Law enforcement, however, says the party's over.
Trespassing violations will be strictly enforced, and the park will be closed from sunset to sunrise starting Monday, Dec. 3.
Sgt. Steve Gaskins says the additional effort to monitor the area comes after a rave was shut down at the park over the summer.
“It didn’t get out of hand but it was too many people," Evans said. "Most events we have out there—on a Friday or Saturday night—we maybe have 150 people at the most.”
People coming to the beaches the mornings after these raves have claimed trash and loud music lingers.
“Just garbage, bottles and trash everywhere," said Jeff Gaswint, who usually arrives at the beach before sunrise to kiteboard.
“Right away I start cleaning up the area.”
But Evans contends party goers clean up as much as they can in the mornings.
Gaswint says he's glad to hear FHP is cracking down but worries that could impact people like him who like to get to the beach early in the morning.
Barrier gates and other signage have been put in place ahead of time.
Evans says fellow DJs are considering moving the parties to during the day.
"It’s kind of sad, everybody’s sad," he said. "We don't want any problems, just music."
10News reporter Josh Sidorowicz contributed to this report.
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