Letter: Fourth of July parade — a bad idea
To the community,
OK — I don’t want to rain on anybody’s parade, but whose idea was it to have a parade on one the busiest days of the year?
This town starts to vibrate at 7am on July 4 and the “powers that be” decided it was a good idea to shut down Highway 50 from 9-10:30 in the morning. Really?
Did you ever stop and think about the ripple effect that it is going to have on the rest of the day. Did you think about how many people you’re going impede by having a parade on July 4? Did you stop and think that this might get in the way if emergency services are needed?
You have upset locals and you are going to upset visitors. I just can’t wrap my brain around this idea. It make no sense.
Just my 2 cents.
John Spinola, South Lake Tahoe
Amen.
Double AMEN
I find it interesting that all the prior year’s July 4th Parades which were conducted and produced by JoAnn Conner/Golden Bear Events and followed almost the identical parade route were OK, but this one is such a bad idea.
Thanks for directing traffic onto Pioneer Trail, we need more traffic. Pioneer Trail is becoming Pioneer Freeway. The speed limit,50mph, and amount of traffic are making it unsafe to enter and exit our neighborhoods. The speed limit needs to be put back to 40mph and be heavily enforced.
Businesses are afraid the Loop Road will take away customers, well those customers are already bypassing those businesses by using Pioneer Trail. Slow the speed limit, put in signals at Elks Club and Golden Bear and safe a life.
I don’t remember anyone saying it was ok. Any facts (quotes)? Or is it just an opinion.
I drive a delivery truck 5 days a week in SLT, including weekends and holidays. Including this weekend and holiday. From my personal EXPERIENCE the effect should be minimal. First, the majority of traffic does not pick up until after everyone has had breakfast and after the 11:AM check out time for most lodgings. Second, a good percentage of people will be staying for the fireworks on Monday night and will not be in the convoy leaving town. Third, the lanes of traffic most effected are the east bound, or the ones leading into town, while most traffic will be heading west bound, out of town. I will be out there on Monday and like I have done in the past I will just know what is happening and plan ahead. I will see plenty of people around me who will be “out of their minds”; go ahead without me. I’m not saying there will be no disruption, of course there will be, but it will be minimal.
If you are upset at having to sit in traffic in your air conditioned car for a few extra minutes then please just remember the “inconvenience” the men and women who have gone to war have been subjected as we remember them on this 4th of July holiday.
Mr. Pierini:
I’m expressing my opinion in response to the letter and the first two comments that were posted. I don’t recall anyone in the past ever writing a letter to the community criticizing the previous July 4th parades which is what led me to believe that historically they were considered OK.
I will assume that you hadn’t found the previous parades produced by Ms. Conner to be a bad idea and don’t find anything wrong with this one either, unless of course you specify other.
Jonathan Moore:
Thank you for an excellent post. Happy July 4th.
Whose idea was it to have a parade on the 4th? That would be the Founding Fathers and the tradition of most every community in every stare since. Personally I have no problem being inconvenienced a few hours each year to celebrate our birthday.
LOL