Parade routes in Port Hardy just got shorter. At their regular meeting April 12, District of Port Hardy Council agreed to a new parade route for Filomi Days (and other parades) that will go from Thunderbird Mall, down Granville Street, turning left on Market Street and ending at Central Street. In previous years, the parade went along Rupert Street to Grey Street, down to Market Street.
The decision was made based on the amount of manpower required to put up and take down the barricades, the length of the route, concerns about vehicles trying to get off Market street during a parade, and vehicles bypassing barricades putting pedestrians at risk. There have also been complaints about a major part of town being closed off and that both gas stations are inaccessible.
In addition to changing the route, the streets will be closed one hour before the parade, and there will be no parking on the closed streets.