Santa Claus is coming to town, but he will be taking a slightly different route this year — and not everyone is merry about it.
This year’s parade in Barrie, which is scheduled to take place Saturday, Nov. 18, will now begin at Lakeshore Drive and Tiffin Street. It will make its way along Lakeshore Drive, up Toronto Street and then make a right turn onto Dunlop Street West, going through downtown, past Meridian Place and ending at Poyntz Street.
That means it will skip Bradford Street this year.
“It sucks,” admitted Sarah Lynne Maloney, owner of Malones Pint House on Bradford Street, which has had a front-row seat to the parade for many years.
Maloney told BarrieToday she received an email on Thursday from the Barrie Chamber of Commerce announcing the new route, which cited safety and construction as two key reasons for the route change.
“The construction is on John Street — there is no real construction on Bradford," she said. "There’s that little bit there right in front of 80 Bradford (St.) … but it’s frustrating.
"People are so used to (the parade going by here)."
Maloney said the parade has served as a wonderful opportunity for the business and its patrons to come together for some family fun.
“We have families that come over and over. We have watched them grow up," she said. "It’s just sad that we don’t get to sit there and have the parade go by and watch the excitement for little kids."
Maloney added the financial impact to her business could be substantial.
“We might get people who would come beforehand … but who knows what is going to happen. It’s just unfortunate,” she said.
“Nobody likes change and we just seem to be getting a lot of change lately.”
In previous years, the parade would begin at Tiffin Street and make its way along Bradford Street to High Street, before proceeding along Dunlop Street West to Mulcaster Street.
The problem with the former route, explained Paul Markle, executive director of the Barrie Chamber of Commerce, which organizes the annual event, is that several spots along that area are currently under construction.
“It’s also a dangerous and hard right turn at High Street going onto Dunlop,” he told BarrieToday.
Markle said the decision to alter the route does come with several positives.
“It allows us to take advantage of the beautiful waterfront. Parents can line up on the route and there’s lots of space behind for kids to play while they’re waiting for the parade," he said. "There is the playground… and there is also some elevated ground there to provide for some good viewing positions.
“We are really excited just about the fact that we are going to have much more space for people to get out and watch, and people in the condos are going to be able to stay nice and warm looking down," Markle added.
The chamber president also acknowledged that the change may upset some people, but noted the most important factor in planning this kind of event is the safety of parade-goers.
“We work with a number of departments within the city and they all have requirements," Markle said. "If we can find something that is amicable to the police service that have to do the road closures, transit is happy so we are not interrupting patrons using their bus service, roads have to be satisfied, the BIA has to be satisfied …and the chamber runs the parade, so we have to be happy, too,” he said.
“Sometimes you’ve got conflicting priorities. It is a collaborative approach and you just have to work through those issues," he said.
This year will mark the parade’s 74th anniversary, he said, adding the route has changed several times over the decades.
And it’s possible it could change again in the future.
“The parade ebbs and flows and changes with the city," Markle said. "When we are planning in the early stages, we don’t know what the city’s plan for construction is, so that’s something that can come up at the last minute.”
While modifications can be difficult, Markle said he believes the new route is a good one.
“Change is one of those things that I don’t think we can avoid," he said. "The city has made significant investments into the waterfront and into the downtown and we want to show it off.
"Ultimately, once the construction and redevelopment of Bradford Street finishes, along there it’s always going to be in consideration. Next year, when we plan, all bets are off and we will look at the environment we have and make the best decision for the city, the viewers and all of the organizations that are involved," Markle added.
When dealing with so many different factors, it’s often inevitable that not everyone will be happy with a decision, he said.
“This provides a really good compromise … There are some businesses along Bradford Street that have had throngs of people there over the years and they will be impacted, and that’s unfortunate, but we are hopeful people will still patronize them while they’re down there," Markle said.
"They need it just as much as the businesses along Dunlop Street."
