Calgary to close downtown roads, parking lots for Stampede parade

Stampede begins on Friday with its traditional parade, and the city is giving Calgarians a heads up about road and parking lot closures, transit schedules, and designated Uber and Taxi pick-up zones.

Several roads will be closed for the better part of the day, and all are expected to reopen at 2 p.m.

Route of the Stampede parade. (Photo: Calgary Stampede)

These roads will be shut down starting at 6 a.m. for parade setup:

• 9 Avenue SE between 8 Street SE and 3 Street SE
• 6 Street SE between 7 Avenue SE and 9 Avenue SE
• 5 Street SE between 7 Avenue SE and 9 Avenue SE
• 6 Avenue SE between 3 Street SE and 5 Street SE
• 7 Avenue SE between 4 Street SE and 6 Street SE
• 8 Avenue SE between 4 Street SE and 6 Street SE

Then, at 7:30 a.m., more roads will be closed for the parade itself:

• 4 Street SE between 6 Avenue SE and 9 Avenue SE
• 3 Street SE between 4 Avenue SE and 9 Avenue SE
• Westbound 6 Avenue from 3 Street SE to 11 Street SW
• 10 Street SW from 6 Avenue SW to 9 Avenue SW
• Eastbound 9 Avenue from 11 Street SW to 3 Street SE
• The morning connector from Bow Trail to westbound 5 Avenue SW will be open from 6 a.m. to 7 a.m. only.

If you need to drive downtown on Friday, and you usually take 9 Avenue, you’ll be redirected onto 11 Street SW. The city says you should take 5 Avenue or 12 Avenue to get around the road closures, and you can still take Blackfoot Trail, Stoney Trail, Crowchild Trail, 16 Avenue, and Deerfoot Trail to get downtown.

Parking lot closures

Several Calgary Parking Authority (CPA) lots will also be inaccessible during the parade, and if you usually park downtown you’ll likely have a tough time finding a spot on Friday.

These lots will be closed until 2 p.m.:

• Platform Parkade (399 9 Avenue SE)
• Centennial Parkade (608 9 Avenue SW and 823 5 Street SW)
• Convention Centre Parkade (727 1 Street SE)
• Arts Commons Parkade (829 Macleod Trail SE)
• Lot 7 (208 9 Avenue SW)
• City Hall Parkade (322 9 Avenue SE)
• City Centre Parkade (221 9 Avenue SW, 9 Avenue entrance)

You can still get to the City Centre Parkade through the 10 Avenue SW entrance.

There are two more CPA lots that will be closed the night before the parade begins. Lot 55 at 724 4 Street SE and Lot 75 at 401 4 Avenue SE will be closed from 6 p.m. July 7 to 4 p.m. July 8.

Calgary Transit and Uber/Taxi zones

During Stampede, CTrains will be running 24/7, service starts Thursday evening and runs until early morning July 18. CTrains will run more frequently, with some having an additional car to accommodate larger crowds. Trains and buses will also be active for longer hours throughout the 10-day event. Calgary Transit is also adding two express bus routes — one from North Pointe Terminal and another from Mackenzie Towne — to get people directly to the Stampede grounds. Every downtown CTrain station is within one block of the parade route.

If you don’t want to take a bus or train, the city has designated Uber and Taxi pick-up zones to make it easier to get in and out of the downtown area. You can grab a cab anytime on 5 Street SE between 12 Avenue SE and 14 Avenue SE, and along 14 Avenue SE between 4 Street SE and 5 Street SE.

For those out in the early hours of the morning (between midnight and 5 a.m.), you can hop in a taxi along 12 Avenue SE between Macleod Trail SE and 3 Street SE.

If you’d rather Uber, there is a 24-hour pick-up zone on the south side of Stampede Park, just north of 25 Avenue SE. Between midnight and 5 a.m. you should call your Uber from 1 Street SE between 10 Avenue SE and 12 Ave SE, or along 10 Avenue SE from 1 Street SE to the cul-de-sac east of 3 Street SE.

Listen to CityNews every 10 minutes on the ones for traffic updates. You can also follow us on Twitter @CityNews660 or subscribe to breaking news alerts sent directly to your inbox.