With less than 24 hours to go before the much anticipated return of Savannah’s St. Patrick’s Day parade and festivities, the City of Savannah and Savannah Police Department (SPD) issued several reminders on Wednesday as locals and visitors prepare for the holiday.
Public safety
All SPD officers will be wearing neon traffic vests for easy visibility. Numerous other agencies will be in Savannah to assist during the parade and the weekend, including Georgia State Patrol, Bryan County Police, Bulloch County Police and Military Police.
Through the weekend SPD will have a mobile command center at St. Julian Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard near City Market. On St. Patrick's Day, SPD will also be operating out of central precinct at 1710 Martin Luther King Blvd. to address the expanded to-go cup zone.
With lots of green clothing expected, attendees are urged to take a photograph of their children ahead of the celebration in the event that they become lost.
During the parade, all lost children will be taken to the nearest ambulance point, which are located along the parade route. After the parade, lost children will be taken to the SPD mobile command center near the intersection of St. Julian Street and Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard.
Securing a spot in a square
Calhoun, Oglethorpe, Lafayette, Johnson, Wright, Madison, and Chippewa squares are prime viewing spots for the parade. Squares will close to visitors at 10 p.m. tonight. City marshals and staff will be in the squares tonight and any items left unattended will be confiscated.
Squares will reopen to the public wanting to stake out a spot at 6 a.m. on parade day. Attendees choosing to sit along the parade route can place chairs out starting at 6 p.m. tonight.
The city’s greenscapes division will use orange fencing and tape to block off vegetation and certain other areas of the squares. Parade attendees are asked to not to remove fencing or use similar materials to block off their spots to avoid confusion.
Styrofoam, glass and personal portlets are not permitted in squares.
Parking
If you’re planning to drive downtown for the parade, come early and have a plan. Attendees are encouraged to download the Waze app to stay up to date on road closures.
Cars must be removed from the parade route and staging area to the east of Forsyth Park by 6 a.m. on March 17. Signs have been posted and warnings will not be issued for citations issued on St. Patrick’s Day.
There is a rotating list of towing companies and if you suspect your car has been towed, you should report to SPD headquarters at 201 Habersham St. to pick up the tow form.
Parking meters won’t be enforced on St. Patrick’s Day, but other violations will be, so if you park on the sidewalk, in a crosswalk, bike lane or double park, expect a ticket or possibly a tow.
Monthly garage passholders are guaranteed a spot up until 8 a.m. on parade day. After 8 a.m. those spots will be sold for $25. The Liberty Street garage is typically the first garage to fill up. If you park in the Bryan, Whitaker or State Street garages, your ability to leave will be dictated by the parade.
The parade begins at 10:15 a.m. at the intersection of Gwinnett and Abercorn streets and stretches nearly three miles through downtown Savannah, ending at Madison Square. The parade is estimated to end between 2:15 p.m. and 3 p.m.
The city's sanitation and greenscapes crews will follow the end of the parade doing clean up. The Savannah Police Department will follow behind sanitation crews to reopen the streets.
Litter and clean up
City sanitation crews will place additional trash and recycle bins in all the squares and along the parade route. Attendees are also encouraged to bring their own trash bags.
Littering in the City of Savannah comes with a minimum $50 fine and police and city marshals will be in the squares to monitor activity.
Food trucks and bars
Six local food trucks will be on the north side of Bay Street between Whitaker and Barnard streets until midnight on St. Patrick's Day. Bars will close as usual at 2:55 a.m. on Friday, March 18.
New changes
The city has expanded it's to-go cup zone starting at 8 a.m. March 17 until bars close. The new zone is bounded east by the Truman Parkway, west to the centerline of the Talmadge Memorial Bridge, south to Victory Drive and north to the Savannah River. Note that pedestrians are not allowed on the Talmadge Bridge.
Credit: Savannah St. Patrick's Day Committee
Credit: Savannah St. Patrick's Day Committee
The city is also not issuing permits for private activities on the public rights-of-way, including outdoor entertainment and alcohol sales within the to-go cup zone, from March 17 to March 20. This means no stages with live music along River Street and no food or beer tents.
The issuance of parking permits for out-of-town motorcoaches within the expanded to-go cup zone will also be suspended. Local transportation service companies will not be impacted but must register with the City of Savannah.
Katie Nussbaum is the city and county government reporter for the Savannah Morning News. Contact her at knussbaum@savannahnow.com. Twitter: KnussSMN
This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Parking, trash, getting food: What to remember for Savannah St. Patrick's Day 2022
The Latest
Featured
