Saturday is Blossomtime Grand Floral Parade Day… and that means major traffic and parking restrictions in effect for several hours while the bands march and the floats pass by.
Note that no blankets or chairs may be placed on the parade route before 6am Saturday morning.
Here is a detailed summary of the plans in St. Joseph, from Department of Public Safety Director Steve Neubecker.
The Cities of Benton Harbor and St. Joseph will be hosting the 2024 Grand Floral Parade on Saturday May 11.
The parade starts at 1:00 p.m. and road closures in St. Joseph will go into effect at 10:00 a.m. which includes all masted boat traffic navigating under the Bicentennial Bridge.
Traffic entering St. Joseph from the north will be detoured west onto Port St. and then south on Lake Blvd. Traffic wishing to continue south on M63 will turn east onto Jones St. or continue south on Lake Boulevard for BL-94. (Jones Street is just North of the Niles/Main Street intersection).
Traffic coming from the south into St. Joseph will be diverted at westbound Jones St. and will follow the same route in reverse. The detour will stay in effect until the end of the parade, which will be approximately 3:30 p.m.
In the City of St. Joseph, there will be no parking along the following public streets which will start at 6
a.m. Saturday morning and continue until 4:00 p.m. at the conclusion of the parade. Any vehicles parked in these areas will be ticketed or towed.
- 500 through the 1000 blocks of State Street.
- 500 and 600 blocks of Market, Pearl, Park, Price and Jones Streets.
- 700 through the 1000 blocks of Court Street.
- 700 & 800 blocks of Park, Price, Jones and Hoyt Street.
- 1000 block of Church Street.
- 700 through the 1100 blocks of Pearl Street.
For Residents and businesses located on Marina Island along Anchor’s Way, please be aware that the Bicentennial Bridge will be closed from 10:00am to approx. 4:00pm on Saturday May 2nd. You will be able to exit the area, however you must head into St. Joseph and follow the detour. Please drive very slow and use caution as emergency vehicles may travel against traffic in these lanes. You will not be able to make entry into this area while the parade route is closed.
Blankets and chairs in the city of St. Joseph will not be allowed on the parade route until 6:00 a.m. on the day of the parade. Any blankets or chairs placed before that time will be removed and taken to the St. Joseph Department of Public Services located on Broad St. in St. Joseph.
Director Steve Neubecker
St. Joseph Department of Public Safety
(269) 985-0300
