Monday, February 2, 2009

Your Thoughts on the Steelers Parade plans? [UPDATED]

Do you have any thoughts about the timing, notice, and route of the Steelers victory parade? The following news release with additional details about tomorrow's went out at 4:34 this afternoon. Feel free to offer your comments below.. (I'm filing this blog post via BlackBerry/GMail.)

UPDATES:

From the mayor's office:

• "Please note that the parade is to start at Grant Street and Seventh Avenue. Reports indicating otherwise are false."

• "Stanwix Street from Fort Pitt Boulevard to the Boulevard of the Allies will close at 9 a.m." [Other street closings are listed in the news release below.]

• "In addition, workers who use the Gateway Center and US Steel parking garage located between Stanwix Street and Commonwealth Place will be able to have access."
Authorities are suggesting parking on the periphery of downtown. That would include Station Square, the North Shore, The Strip District, and the new Grant Street Transportation Center (at the end of Grant Street by Liberty Avenue).


Here's the phone number Port Authority customer service: 412-442-2000.


The Post-Gazette is reporting:
"The Gateway Clipper Fleet will run shuttles from Station Square to the Monongahela River side of Point State Park for the parade. Shuttle service will begin at 9 a.m. and will continue until the start of the parade. Return shuttles will begin immediately following the conclusion of the ceremonies and will continue for an hour. The cost will be $5, with no charge for children 6 and younger. The fleet will donate part of the proceeds to the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank."

Here's Monday's news release from the offices of the mayor and the county executive:

"RAVENSTAHL, ONORATO ANNOUNCE PLANS FOR SUPER BOWL XLIII VICTORY PARADE"


"(PITTSBURGH) February 2, 2009 Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl and County Executive Dan Onorato today announced plans to honor the history-making victory of the six-time Super Bowl Champion Pittsburgh Steelers with a parade through Downtown Pittsburgh tomorrow, February 3, starting at 12:00 noon at the intersection of Grant and Seventh..."


" 'We are excited to give fans an opportunity to celebrate with their team, the number one Super Bowl Champion Pittsburgh Steelers.' said Ravenstahl. 'Let's welcome home our guys and show the world what Pittsburgh and the Steeler Nation are all about.' "


" 'Tomorrow's parade will be a great opportunity for this region to honor this amazing Steelers team and the Rooney family for bringing the Vince Lombardi trophy back to the City of Champions for a record sixth time,' Onorato."


"The parade will take off at 12:00 noon and proceed down Grant Street. From Grant Street, the parade will loop to the Boulevard of the Allies and end at Stanwix Street where a stage celebration will be held. A media reviewing stand will be set up near the stage."


"Color and honor guards comprised of City and County public safety personnel will commence the parade. Six marching bands from Thomas Jefferson, Bethel Park, South Fayette, Carrick, Perry and Brashear high schools will follow, representing each Steelers Super Bowl victory."


"Barricades will be set up throughout the parade route to ensure the safety of fans and players. The City encourages all fans to take public transportation. If driving is necessary, fans are encouraged to park on the periphery of downtown."


"Road closures are as follows:"

· "6:30 p.m. this evening to 3 p.m. tomorrow - Boulevard of the Allies between Stanwix Street and Commonwealth Place"

· "9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. tomorrow - the entire parade route from Grant Street to the Boulevard of the Allies to Commonwealth Place."

· "Please note that there will be no parking on the Boulevard of the Allies tomorrow morning. Traffic will be back to normal for tomorrow's evening rush hour."

--
Sent from my mobile device

19 comments:

Anonymous said...

why not starting at the Mellon arena like 2006?

Anonymous said...

We are coming from New Castle, Where should we park??

Nate8724 said...

yea doesnt make sense i thought the mellon arena one was fine in 06 but watev and I have no clue where i am parking I might just take a bus that may be your best bet cause traffic and parking will be a disaster there during the parade

Christy M said...

If you park @ Station Square are they having the Clipper Fleets running for free like they did in 2006???? THANKS in advance!

Bram Reichbaum said...

Where does the parade start on Grant Street? All the way down by the big billboard, or all the way up at the County Courthouse / City County Bldg?

As to the timing - very wise to get it out of the way as soon as possible, IMHO Forget about making "plans" to come in, or coming down off that black n' gold high. One shot and done, boom, hooray. Very appropriate.

Anonymous said...

Can you park at Heinz Field?

Anonymous said...

My daughter is in the Bethel Park Marching Band and we are very excited to be part of this historic event!!! Thank you for inviting us!!

Bram Reichbaum said...

A fellow I know from District 2 just wondered if this is going to add a new wrinkle to tomorrow's special election for the open council seat. I suppose ... maybe?

Anonymous said...

The parade is always a wonderful way to cheer on the Steelers victory;however, I live out of town and would love the opportunity to join in the festivites. Maybe future parades could be held on the weekend for all fans to enjoy. With appropriate notification of time, day and place all Steeler fans -local and non-local could celebrate too.

Anonymous said...

Starts at Grant & 7th.

Anonymous said...

"We are coming from New Castle, Where should we park??"

Try to avoid downtown. Park on the north side and get across the river. Even try Oakland and PAT bus it in.

Bob Mayo said...

I've added some updated information in the main body of the blog post.

Anonymous said...

the Steelers are a Blue Collar Team
why not hold the parade on the weekend so the blue collar workers can go 7 show their support

Anonymous said...

"Stanwix Street from Fort Pitt Boulevard to the Boulevard of the Allies will close at 9 a.m."

this was a lie - they closed the street at 8am...totally tying up traffic downtown and making people walk blocks and blocks from their buses...just trying to get to work.

I agree with the post about holding the parade on the weekend so that people have a better chance of attending and it doesn't tie up traffic for those just trying to do their job.

Anonymous said...

It's bull crap.. Alot of fans are going to miss out on the celebration, it's not fair to the people THAT CAN"T LEAVE their jobs to go to the city on their luch hour.

Did Luke make a proclamation that all companies shut down? No, i know that can't be done but he could have scheduled it on a saturday!

L Skoff

illyrias said...

I concur that it would have been nice for them to do the parade on the weekend, a lot more accessible for adults and children and less of an inconvenience for the people who work downtown. However, I've never heard of a celebration parade being held on a weekend.
Is that because the players just want to get on with their off-season plans or officials are afraid the fervor would die down or something else?

If it's the fervor, that's not a concern here in Pittsburgh. Fans would pack downtown for a parade 6 months late if need be. A weekend parade would also give officials more time to plan and prepare.

Next time. :)

Anonymous said...

For those of you who can not attend the parade... you can watch online at www.thepittsburghchannel.com just thought that may help a little. I know the experience would be must better if you were atcually there (tear), but it's better than nothing :D

Anonymous said...

I agree with several others about having the parade on a weekend! So many fans aren't able to make the mid week celebrations, and I'm sure it makes for a mess for those trying to get to work. Several of us fans in Fort Wayne, IN, would for sure be there, but since several of my group had already taken Monday off work as a personal day, the Tuesday parade is out of the question. Hopefully, we can find coverage on ESPN/NFL/or online...for those of you going have fun & be safe!

Anonymous said...

350,000 people? Is that it?? Seems pretty lame. Considering the phillies had 2 million + people at their parade. Weak display from steeler nation. Pity.