By Rosanne Dechicchio
DELRAY BEACH – In observance of the Annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade Downtown on Saturday, March 12, several roads and bridges will be closed as well as paid parking garages and trolley service will be modified.
Road Closures: Atlantic Avenue will be closed at 10 a.m. to motor vehicles from Ocean Blvd/A1A to NW/SW 8th Avenue. Roads will reopen to motor vehicles as the parade completes that section of the route; however, Atlantic Avenue between NE/SE 5th Avenue and Swinton Avenue will remain closed until 6 p.m. to allow for pedestrian traffic. Other sections of Atlantic Avenue will reopen immediately after the parade.
From 2 p.m. to approximately 4 p.m., northbound and southbound Federal Highway (U.S. 1/NE/SE 5th & 6th avenues) at the intersection of Atlantic Avenue will be closed to motor vehicles for the duration of the parade.
Detour Routes Motorists are advised to use the following alternative routes during road closures: For eastbound/westbound travel, use George Bush Boulevard or Linton Boulevard. For northbound/southbound travel, use Ocean Boulevard /SR A1A or Congress Avenue.
Bridge Closure – The Atlantic Avenue Bridge will be closed to boat traffic during the parade.
Parking spaces along Atlantic Avenue from NE/SE 7th Avenue to NW/SW 1st Avenue will be barricaded off for safety reasons starting at 8 a.m.
Parking Facilities – On Saturday, paid parking ($5 per vehicle) will be in effect during the following hours:
- Old School Square Garage, 95 NE 1st Ave., 10 a.m. – 12 midnight
- Robert Federspiel Garage, 22 SE 1st Ave., 9 a.m. – 12 midnight
- South County Courthouse Garage, 65 SW 2nd Ave., 10 a.m. – 8 p.m.
- North City Hall Parking Lot, 100 NW 1st Ave., 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Parking attendants accept cash only, upon entry, and will monitor the parking facilities until the posted closing times.
Downtown Roundabout Modified Trolley Service – On Saturday, the Downtown Roundabout will operate its regular weekend schedule, (8 a.m. – 11 p.m.), providing free roundtrip service between the Tri-Rail Station on South Congress Avenue and Ocean Blvd/SR A1A. From 10 a.m. to approximately 4 p.m., trolley service will be suspended east of NW/SW 8th Avenue while the parade is in progress.
Between 4 p.m. and 6 p.m., roundtrip trolley service will extend to Ocean Blvd/SR A1A using bypass routes as follows:
- Eastbound Service – trolleys will detour onto Swinton Avenue to SE 1st Street, continue east to SE 6th Avenue (northbound US1) to Atlantic Avenue, to Ocean Blvd/SR A1A
- Westbound Service – from the beach area, trolleys will travel on Atlantic Avenue to NE 6th Avenue (northbound US1), head west on NE 1st Street to Swinton Avenue, and from Swinton will return to Atlantic Avenue to the Tri-Rail Station on South Congress Avenue.
Normal service along Atlantic Avenue will resume after 6 p.m. when road closures are no longer in effect. Motorists and pedestrians are advised to expect delays because of additional traffic generated by the event.