The annual Greater Sudbury Santa Claus Parade will be held downtown today starting at 5:30 p.m.
Greater Sudbury Police's Traffic Management Unit will be closing and or controlling several lanes of traffic and roads to ensure the safe movement of parade participants and those attending this year’s parade, police said in a news release.
Helping with the safe movement of the parade will be members of the Greater Sudbury Police Auxiliary Unit and members of Citizens on Patrol, along with other community partners, such as: Ontario Provincial Police, Canadian Pacific and Canadian National Police, North Shore Search and Rescue volunteers and students from the Cambrian College Police Foundations and Criminal Justice Association programs.
Motorists should be aware of the following lane and road closures:
-- Southbound lanes on Notre Dame Avenue will be closed between Kathleen Street and Ste. Anne Road at 1 p.m.
-- Notre Dame Avenue northbound between Elm Street and Leslie Street will be closed starting at 4:45 pm and will remained closed until all pedestrian traffic has cleared the parade area.
-- The downtown core will be closed to vehicle traffic between 4:45 and 8 p.m.
-- The neighborhood area contained by Kathleen, Davidson, College and MacKenzie streets will be open to local traffic only.
-- Brady Street between Paris and Douglas streets will close for more than one-hour shortly after the commencement of the parade.
Parking at all municipal parking lots is free on the date of the parade. Parking will not be permitted along the parade route - Elm Street, Durham Street, Minto Street and Elgin Street. Vehicles will be ticketed and or towed at the owner’s expense, police say.
The Murray Street area will be used by EMS, fire and Sudbury Transit as an alternate route and parking enforcement will take place to ensure safe passage as required.
“The Greater Sudbury Police Service understands area residents and the motoring public will be slightly inconvenienced on the afternoon of the parade,” the release said. “However, our police service believes these measures are necessary to successfully ensure the safety of all involved in the Santa Claus Parade.”
