Tomorrow promises to be a great day for one of our city’s largest outdoor celebrations: the annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade. We’ll have dozens of additional officers in the area to ensure you and your family and friends can safely enjoy the event.
If you live in, work in or frequent the area of the parade in Midtown, beware of the road closures from about 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. tomorrow:
• Broadway Boulevard between 31st and 43rd streets
• Linwood Boulevard/33rd Street between Main Street and Pennsylvania Avenue
• Southbound J.C. Nichols Parkway between 43rd and 47th streets
• 43rd Street between Main Street and Wornall Road.
If you plan to be anywhere along or near the parade route, also be aware that many parade visitors will be parking in the area, and traffic congestion is likely. We ask parade-goers to please observe the posted parking ordinances. Also, please do not leave items of value in plain view in your vehicle. Thieves often target areas where many cars are parked at once, and although many officers will be nearby, leaving something like a bag or GPS or cell phone in your car could get it broken into.
Along the parade route, there will be police on foot, on motorcycle, on ATV and even overhead in the KCPD helicopter. Cameras posted on the route will be monitored by officers from a separate location to notify police on the streets of any potential problems. Plain-clothes detectives also will be in the crowd looking for liquor violations or other possible troubles.
After the parade, additional officers – including the Mounted Patrol Section – also will be assigned to the Westport area for the rest of the day and into the evening to make sure everyone celebrates safely. And remember, we’ll be conducting two DUI checkpoints between today and Sunday. As always, be sure to designate a sober driver or arrange for other transportation if you plan to drink.
We wish everyone a fun and safe St. Patrick’s Day.
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