Street Closures and Parking Details for Colorado State University Homecoming Parade
There will be several temporary road closures in Fort Collins during the Colorado State University Homecoming and Family Weekend Parade on Friday, Oct. 9. The 90-minute parade will begin at 4:30 p.m. at the intersection of Howes Street and Oak Street in downtown Fort Collins. The parade will travel south on Howes, through the CSU Oval, across university plaza and will conclude on campus at Meridian Avenue and University Avenue, at the West Lawn of the Lory Student Center.
Beginning at 1 p.m., Friday, Oct. 9, streets in the staging area will be closed and cleared of any parked cars. Individuals are asked to observe “No Parking” signs posted in the area. The parade staging area includes:
• Howes, south of Mountain Avenue and north of Oak Street
• Oak Street, west of Howes and east of Sherwood, including both streets
• Sherwood Street, south of Mountain and north of, and including Oak Street
• The intersections of Oak Street and Meldrum, Oak and Howes, and Oak and Sherwood
To avoid the staging area, drivers are encouraged to use Mountain or La Porte streets for east-west routes and Mason or Loomis streets for north-south routes. Oak Street will remain open east of Howes for Larimer County Courthouse traffic. Streets in the staging area are scheduled to open as the area clears, starting at 5:30 p.m. However, no access to Howes, south of Mountain Avenue, will be allowed until the parade ends.
Beginning at 4 p.m., streets along and feeding into the parade route will be closed. Parking along the parade route is prohibited all day, and any parked cars will be towed beginning at 11 a.m. “No Parking” signs will be posted along the route. The parade route includes:
• Howes, south of Oak Street through Laurel Street, to the CSU Oval
• Oval Drive
• West Drive
• University Avenue, west of, and including, West Drive to Meridian
East-west streets along the parade route also will close starting at 4 p.m., with traffic diverted from access to and across Howes. These streets include:
• W. Olive Street
• W. Magnolia Street
• W. Mulberry Street
• W. Myrtle Street
• W. Laurel Street
Meridian Avenue will be closed south of Plum Street and north of Lake Street for the duration of the parade – 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. – and only emergency access to Meridian from South Drive and Pitkin Street will be granted.
To avoid the parade route, East-West traffic is encouraged to use Prospect Road or Mountain Avenue. North-South traffic may use College Avenue or Shields Street.
All streets will open once the parade ends at 6 p.m.
Anyone whose vehicle is towed from the parade route or staging area should contact Fort Collins Police Services at 970-221-6540 to reclaim their vehicle.
For more details on the parade route and closures, visit http://www.homecoming.colostate.edu/09-parade-route-closings.pdf.
The city of Fort Collins bus service, Transfort, also will detour from several standard stops during the parade and parade staging, beginning at 1:15 p.m., Friday, Oct. 9 and ending at 6 p.m. Route 15 will be the only impacted route:
Southbound Detour:
? From Downtown Transit Center , west on Maple to Howes,
south on Howes to La Porte Avenue, west on La Porte to Loomis, south on Loomis to Meridian and Plum on campus, then east on Plum into CSU Campus Transit Center.
Northbound Detour:
? From CTC, west to Plum and Meridian, north on Loomis to La Porte, east on Laporte to Mason Street, north on Mason Street and into DTC.
Route 15 Bus Stops:
? Route 15 will not stop at Howes, the Howes post office, Mason or
Olive. Northbound bus stops (from CTC to DTC) that will be in service during this time will be Meldrum and Myrtle (mid block between Laurel and Myrtle), Meldrum and Mulberry (mid-block between Mulberry and Magnolia), eastbound Olive Street between Meldrum and Howes (post office stop).
The final stop for Route 15 at Olive and Mason will not be serviced by Route 15, but will still be serviced by northbound routes 1 and 18 (going to DTC).
The following parking closures also will go into effect on the CSU campus the morning of Friday, Oct. 9:
• West side of the Oval
• West Drive
• Hartshorn East #420
• Meridian between University and Pitkin
• Pitkin Z lot #240
• Library lot #425 – motorcycle parking only (“A” parking and metered parking available)
The parade start time was moved up 30 minutes this year to ensure completion of the parade before sunset. The parade starting location was moved to open up three additional east-west traffic corridors – Maple Street, La Porte Avenue and Mountain Avenue – to ease traffic congestion during the parade.
The end of the parade also serves as the beginning of the community-wide Homecoming Festival starting at approximately 6 p.m. on the west side of the Lory Student Center. The festival includes a pep rally with CSU football coach Steve Fairchild and Ram football players, live music and a family-friendly atmosphere. Local restaurant vendors will be on hand with variety of food choices for purchase. The event will end with the traditional bonfire, lighting of the "A" and fireworks. The event is free and open to the public.
Colorado State University President Tony Frank will serve as this year’s Grand Marshal for the 2009 CSU Homecoming Parade. The theme of this year’s parade is “Celebrating the Past, Building the Future.”
In addition to the parade, Homecoming and Family Weekend highlights include the Homecoming 5K Race beginning on the Oval at 8 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 10, and the Homecoming football game at Hughes Stadium at 4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 10.
Many other activities, including a variety of campus tours and open houses and parent association meetings, are included throughout the weekend. Visit the Web at http://www.homecoming.colostate.edu for a complete list of events.
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