Street closures and parking information for CSU Homecoming and Family Weekend

Several roads will be temporarily closed in Fort Collins during the Colorado State University Homecoming and Family Weekend parade on Friday, Oct. 17.

The 90-minute parade will begin at 4:30 p.m. at the intersection of Howes and Oak streets in downtown Fort Collins. The parade will travel south on Howes, around the CSU Oval, across the Lory Student Center plaza and conclude on campus at Meridian and University avenues, at the West Lawn of the Lory Student Center.

The parade route will close at 3:30 p.m. on Friday. Parking along the parade route is prohibited all day, and towing will begin at noon Friday. “No Parking” signs will be posted Wednesday along the route.

Streets in the parade staging area will be closed at noon Friday, and cars parked in the staging area will be towed.

Streets in the parade staging area include:

– Howes Street – Mountain Avenue to Oak Street
– Oak Street – between Howes and Sherwood streets
– Sherwood Street – Mountain Avenue to Oak Street, including the Oak Street intersection
– The intersections of Oak and Meldrum streets, Oak and Howes streets, and Oak and Sherwood streets

To avoid the staging area, drivers are encouraged to use Mountain or Laporte avenues for east-west routes and Mason or Loomis streets for north-south routes. Oak Street will remain open east of Howes Street for Larimer County Courthouse traffic.

Streets in the staging area will 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 3:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 17, streets along and intersecting with the parade route will be closed.

The parade route includes:

– Howes Street, south of Oak Street through Laurel Street, to the CSU Oval
– Oval Drive
– Amy Van Dyken Way (formerly West Drive)
– University Avenue, west of, and including, Amy Van Dyken Way to Meridian

East-west streets along the parade route also will close starting at 3:30 p.m. on parade day. Traffic will be 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, and only emergency access to Meridian Avenue 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. The parade starting location allows for three additional east-west traffic corridors – Maple Street, Laporte Avenue and Mountain Avenue – to ease traffic congestion during the parade.

Alternative modes of transportation, such as riding Transfort or MAX buses and bicycling, are recommended throughout the day.

For more details about the parade route and closures, visit homecoming.colostate.edu/parade-route.aspx.

All streets will open once the parade ends at 6 p.m. Friday.

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. Vehicles will be towed by Crossroads Towing to a lot on the southeast corner of Howes and Maple streets beginning at noon.

The city of Fort Collins bus services, Transfort and MAX, also will detour from several standard stops during the parade and parade staging. Detours will begin when barricades go up around 1 p.m.; regular routes will resume as soon as barricades are cleared at around 6 p.m.

Routes impacted by the parade:

– Route 2
– Route 3
– Route 7
– Route 13

Maps and additional details about routes impacted by the parade are available at fcgov.com/transfort.

The following parking closures also will go into effect on the CSU campus the morning of Friday, Oct. 17:

– West side of the Oval Drive
– Amy Van Dyken Way
– West side of Meridian between South and Pitkin
– South section of Pitkin Z lot #240 will close at 4 p.m.

Westbound Old Main Drive from Rembrandt to the Oval on campus also will be closed.

Parts of the Oval lawn will be closed to pedestrian and bicycle traffic throughout the day.

The end of the parade also serves as the beginning of the communitywide Homecoming pep rally starting at about 6 p.m. on the west side of the Lory Student Center.

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. 18, and the Homecoming football game vs. Utah State at Hughes Stadium at 5 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 19.

Visit homecoming.colostate.edu for a complete list of events.

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