City Announces Location Change for City’s Fourth of July Parade for 2019

Lakewood Mayor Mike Summers announced today that due to construction on the western half of Lake Avenue (Belle Ave. to Webb Rd.) the city will redirect the Lakewood Fourth of July Parade from Nicholson to Belle Avenues this summer.

Cognizant of the rich history and tradition of the parade, the city explored options to avoid the redirect. This decision was made to maximize public safety and the utilization of as much construction-friendly weather as possible to aim for completion of the project by the end of 2019. The city understands that some residents may still wonder, “Why the change, can’t the construction begin on July 5^th?”

Unlike the eastern part of Lake Avenue completed in 2018, which only required sewer work and resurfacing, the street work between Belle Ave. and Webb Rd. involves complete waterline replacement, sewer main improvements, and resurfacing.  The city currently estimates that in order to complete this project in 2019, construction work will need to occur, at a minimum, from May to November.

The city is scheduling the Lake Avenue work in the Abbieshire to Belle area based on the Lakewood Catholic Academy school calendar, preparing to start in June with plans to complete in early August. On weekdays, this area is highly congested with school traffic and commuters around 8 a.m. and 3 p.m. Delaying work in that area until after the parade would increase congestion during the school year and cause safety concerns for pedestrians and traffic.

Residents should be on the lookout for a community meeting notice and more specific construction and traffic flow information in May 2019.

In 2019, parade marchers will have a new view as they march toward Lakewood Park facing west this year (2019 parade route and staging locations map ). Residents on Nicholson Ave., Cliff Dr., Wilbert Ave. and a portion of Edgewater Dr. will have the unique pleasure of watching the parade set up, listening to the drums and pipes warm up, and sending them off at 10 a.m. The City asks that all residents please remember that this is a once-in-a-century change driven by the need to make significant infrastructure improvements on the western portion of Lake Ave. Parade life will be back to “normal” in 2020.

The post-parade activities will remain the same as previous years, and parade applications will be available in early May at www.onelakewood.com.