With the annual Blossomtime Grand Floral Parade set for this Saturday at 1 p.m., residents and visitors to St. Joseph or Benton Harbor are being asked to prepare for road closures, detours and parking restrictions surrounding the 2.5 mile parade route through the cities.
Road closures and detours will begin at at 10 a.m. and won’t reopen until about 4 p.m. The Bicentennial Bridge to Benton Harbor will also be closed to all masted boats during this time. Traffic coming in and out of St. Joseph will be detoured, and drivers will not be able to park on streets near the parade route starting at 6 a.m.
Traffic entering St. Joseph from the north will be detoured west onto Port Street and south to Lake Boulevard. Drivers continuing south on M-63 will turn east onto Jones Street or continue south on Lake Boulevard toward Lakeshore Drive. Traffic coming from the south will be required to follow the same route in the opposite direction.
From 6 a.m. to 4 p.m., parking will be prohibited in the following areas:
- 500-1000 blocks of State Street
- 500-600 blocks of Market
- 700-1000 blocks of Court Street
- 500-800 blocks of Park, Price and Jones streets
- 700-800 blocks of Hoyt Street
- 1000 block of Church Street
- 500-1100 blocks of Pearl Street
Blankets and chairs will not be allowed on the parade route until 6 a.m. Saturday. Any blankets or chairs placed before that time will be taken to the St. Joseph Department of Public Safety on Broad Street.
Additional questions can be brought to DPS director Steve Neubecker at (269) 985-0300.
