New Orleanians have been waiting for a return to normality after Mardi Gras 2021 has cancelled due to COVID-19 concerns. Mardi Gras 2022 is still set to take place, but it'll look a bit different compared to previous Carnivals.
Mayor LaToya Cantrell held a press conference on December 21 to officially announce changes to many different parade routes for the upcoming Mardi Gras. While all will remain on their traditional routes, all are being shorten in some way to maintain public safety during the continued COVID pandemic, as well as to accommodate for NOPD's current limited police staffing.
According to NOPD, Uptown parades that started on Jefferson Avenue and Magazine Street, Henry Clay and Tchoupitoulas Streets, and the river side of Napoleon Avenue will now all kick off at Prytania Street and Napoleon Avenue, go down St. Charles Avenue, and end at Poydras Street.
Not only that, parade that started on S. Saratoga Street and Napoleon Avenue will now start at Napoleon and Carondelet Street. Also, parades that kicked off at Fiesta Street and Holiday Drive will now start at Holiday and Wall Boulevard.
For some of the main headlining parades, here are their changes on their original routes:
Endymion
·
Instead of turning right onto St. Charles
Avenue, it will now turn right onto Loyola Avenue and Elk Place.
·
Endymion will also turn right from Loyola Avenue
onto Girod Street, then proceeding to the rear of the Superfome.
Rex
·
Instead of starting on Carondelet Street and
Napoleon Avenue, it will now begin at Napoleon and S. Claiborne Avenue.
Zulu
·
Zulu will now turn left onto Poydras street and
right onto Loyola Avenue after it makes its pass at Gallier Hall.
·
From there, Zulu will continue to its
traditional Basin Street route.
It has also been announced that the Krewe of Crescent City
and the Krewe of Elks will be allowed to stay on their original routes.
