Park City has canceled the traditional Fourth of July parade on Main Street due to health restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic. KPCW’s Sean Higgins has more:
Jenny Diersen is Park City’s Economic Development Program Manager. She said the decision to cancel the parade came down to worries over people crowded on sidewalks.
“You know, as we continue to, you know, adapt to the COVID, what I’ll call the COVID lifestyle, I think really at this point in time we do not feel it is responsible as a city to be hosting a parade where people would potentially gather for really any amount of time in a stationary form, if that makes sense," she said. "Generally, people line up on the sidewalk and they might be there for an hour or two very closely together. We’re not comfortable at this point in time moving forward in that type of an activity.”
The Historic Park City Alliance is surveying Main Street business owners to gauge their interest in making Main Street car-free on the Fourth, much like the current car-free Sundays already happening this summer. Diersen says since businesses are already operating with health precautions in place in order to do business on the street during car-free Sundays, extending those to the Fourth would be the safest way to still hold an event for the holiday.
If Main Street is to close to car traffic on the Fourth, it would be from early in the morning until 10pm as opposed to the 11am-10pm closure on Sundays.
Diersen said the decision on whether or not Park City will host a fireworks display this year is still up in the air and will be dependent on monitoring the ongoing health situation and fire safety levels.
“The goal for fireworks too will be that they will really be for our residents to watch from their neighborhoods and those that are patronizing the street and promoting local business," she said. "We are not encouraging people to come up and watch the fireworks from afar in this sense, but again, feel that knowing our community, that Fourth of July is an important holiday for our community to celebrate.”
The city is hoping to make a decision on fireworks by next week.