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Mardi Gras safety plans moving forward
The Shreveport City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved an ordinance that puts into writing several safety laws regarding Mardi Gras parades.
The ordinance makes official many rules that already have been in place for past Mardi Gras parades. They include prohibiting float drivers from drinking any alcohol, requiring drivers to take an intoxilyzer test and prohibiting glass bottles and glass containers on the parade route.
The ordinance also prohibits citizens from parking or loitering on the parade route before 7 a.m. on the day of the parade and from crossing parade barricades during the parade.
In addition, no animals will be allowed within 200 yards of the parade route, unless the animals are in secured yards of residents living along the parade route. Dangerous objects and "silly string" in pressurized containers is prohibited, as is throwing any objects back at parade floats. Flags or banners also will not be allowed within 50 feet of the parade route on the day of the parade.
As always, police will not tolerate any underage drinking or possession of alcohol.
The first Mardi Gras parade sponsored the Krewe of Centaur begins at 4:30 p.m. Feb. 2 at Clyde Fant Parkway and Lake Street downtown. The parade will proceed in the southbound lanes on Clyde Fant, crossing under the Shreveport-Barksdale bridge. The route will then turn right onto Shreveport Barksdale Highway and then left on East Kings Highway. It ends at Preston Avenue.
The second parade, sponsored by the Krewe of Gemini, will also begin at 4:30 p.m. on Feb. 9. It will follow the same route as the first parade.
Major roadways on the parade route will close at 3:30 p.m. on parade days. They are:
* Clyde Fant from Lake Street to 70th Street, including Stoner Avenue, East Preston and 70th Street.
* The Shreveport-Barksdale Bridge in Bossier City.
* Shreveport-Barksdale Highway.
* East Kings at Youree.
* East Kings at Preston.
Full parade details can be accessed by logging onto the city’s web site at www.ci.shreveport.la.us. Click on the Mardi Gras icon.
Police Chief Jim Roberts and Mayor Keith Hightower will host a press conference to discuss the new parade routes and parade safety at 10 a.m. Wednesday, Jan. 30, in the Police Chief’s Conference Room (first floor, Shreveport Police Facility). For more information, contact Kacee Hargrave at 673-6932.