Plymouth’s annual Thanksgiving parade – set for Saturday, Nov. 23, rain or otherwise – is the town’s biggest event of the year, with tens of thousands of people expected to line the route. Planning how you’ll get to a prime viewing spot now will make the experience a much better one.
While everyone loves a parade – or so we’ve been told – no one looks forward to dealing with parade parking. Or to retrieving their car from a tow lot because they parked in a restricted area.
Here’s what you need to know before heading out Saturday morning. First, the parade route itself:
- The parade will start at 10 a.m. on Water Street (with marchers and floats lined up between the roundabout and the intersection with Brewster Street prior to the step-off).
- The procession will head south on Water Street, up to Main Street Extension, north on Main Street to Court Street.
- The route ends at Benny’s Plaza/Nelson Street in North Plymouth.
Now…the traffic and parking restrictions (deep breaths, deep breaths):
- Vehicular traffic will be banned along the parade route starting at 8:30 a.m. Saturday.
- Water Street will be closed to traffic from 7 a.m. until about 4 p.m. between South Park Avenue and Union Street.
- The parking lot behind Memorial Hall will be closed to the public from 12 a.m. Saturday until the end of the parade. Overnight parking in the lot will not be allowed starting at midnight Friday.
- Don’t even think about parking on Court Street, Main Street, or Main Street Extension from 7 a.m. Saturday until after the parade ends. Parking will not be allowed on either side of these streets from Water Street to Samoset Street. Heading north, a parking ban will be in place on both sides of Court Street from Samoset Overnight parking will be restricted as posted. A parking ban will be in effect on Carver Street and Lincoln Street, and restrictions will be in place on Allerton, Vernon, Russell, South Russell, and Summer streets.
- The South Russell Street parking garage (across from Town Hall) will be closed to the public.
- A limited number of handicap parking spaces will be available on Russell Street.
- Parking won’t be allowed in the Nathaniel Morton Elementary School parking lots off Union Street.
- Also note that parking on one side of some streets in the downtown area will be prohibited. (Signs indicating the restrictions were already posted earlier this week.)
OK, so you basically can’t park anywhere near the parade route, unless you’ve got a downtown friend willing to give up a private parking space. If you live close enough – and are physically able to – walking might be a good idea. But if you have to drive, here are what town officials say are your best options with minimal frustration (though do expect plenty of company):
- Park in the Plymouth County Registry of Deeds and Courthouse lots (50 and 52 Obery Street) for free. Shuttle buses will run from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday.
- Park at the Kingston MBTA Commuter Lot. Shuttle buses will also run from there most of the day.
Finally, be prepared for the weather. The forecast calls for a chance of showers on Saturday, with a high temperature of 49 degrees.
For more information about the parade itself, and the weekend’s many other festivities, check out this week’s Culture column.
Mark Pothier can be reached at mark@plymouthindependent.org.