Prepare for a Ton of Road Closures in Philly This Weekend

Photo courtesy CodyJung via Creative Commons

Driving in Philly this weekend might be a bit hectic (more than usual, at least).

A number of festivals, parades and runs will shut down various streets on Saturday and Sunday. Areas to look out for include Chinatown, the Benjamin Franklin Parkway and roads near Penn’s Landing.

Here a list of events and road closures, per the city:

Saturday

Asian Americans United Mid Autumn Festival and Parade

Asian Americans United will hold a festival and parade. At 8 a.m., southbound 10th Street will be closed at Race Street and will reopen by 10 p.m. At 6 p.m., the parade is scheduled to start. The parade will begin at 10th & Arch streets and proceed west on Arch Street to 11th Street, north on 11th Street to Race Street, east on Race Street to 9th Street, north on 9th Street to Winter Street, west on Winter Street to 10th Street and south on 10th Street to Cherry Street.

There will be police officers assigned to the area; however, motorists should expect delays.

Ratha Yatra Parade

On Saturday,the Ratha-Yatra Parade will take place along the Parkway between 16th Street and Eakins Oval. The 1600 block of the Benjamin Franklin Parkway will be closed at 9 a.m. for set-up. The parade will begin at 12:30 p.m. at 17th Street and proceed west on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway to Logan Circle (north side), continuing west onto the inner drive of the Parkway,until reaching the dispersal area inside Eakins Oval. The 1600 block of the Benjamin Franklin Parkway will be closed at 9 a.m. for set-up. The parade will conclude by 1:30 p.m. However, the festival will continue inside Eakins Oval until 7 p.m.

There will be a detail assigned to this event, but traffic in the area could be heavy at times.

PRO-ACT Recovery Walk

At 9 a.m., the walk will start on the Penn’s Landing Great Plaza, turn west on Chestnut Street to Front Street, south on Front Street to Walnut Street, west on Walnut Street to 7th Street, north on 7th Street to Chestnut Street, and east on Chestnut to Penn’s Landing Great Plaza. The walk will conclude by 12:00 PM.

Traffic in the area could be heavy at times.

Opera on the Mall

On Saturday, the Opera Company of Philadelphia will hold an event from 5 p.m. to 12 a.m. The 500 block of Chestnut Street will be closed for setup at 10 a.m. and will reopen at 12 a.m. on Sunday.

There will be a detail assigned to this event, but traffic in the area could be heavy at times.

Sunday

Parkway Run

On Sunday, the Parkway Run will take place along the Parkway between Logan Circle and Eakins Oval and on Martin Luther King Drive, with a turn-around at Sweet Briar. The roads will be closed for set-up beginning at 4 a.m. The run will begin at 8:30 a.m. and conclude by 11:30 a.m. Once the run concludes, the setup will begin along the Parkway and Eakins Oval for the Puerto Rican Day Parade.

There will be a detail assigned to this event, but traffic in the area could be heavy at times.

Global Energy Run

The Global Energy Run/Walk run will start at 7:30 a.m. on Sunday inside the Penn’s Landing Walnut Street parking lots. The run/walk will proceed left onto South Columbus Boulevard from Walnut Street, south on South Columbus Boulevard to Washington Avenue, left onto the Delaware River Trail and east on Delaware River Trail before turning around behind Walmart and coming off the trail. Runners and walkers will then continue north on Delaware River Trail to South Columbus Boulevard, north on South Columbus Boulevard to Spring Garden Street, north on Delaware Avenue just past Shackamaxon Avenue and turn around just before Marlborough Street to follow same course south (on Delaware/Columbus Boulevard) towards Penn’s Landing. They’ll finish inside Penn’s Landing at the Walnut Street parking lots.

Roads will close for setup at 6:30 a.m. and reopen at 10 a.m. Traffic in the area could be heavy at times.

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