City residents will have to scramble to find new spots to watch the Memorial Day parade this year after city officials reacted to uncertainties about the state of Elm Street and radically changed the route of march for the 2012 parade.
Police Lt. Jerome Pitoniak, the supervisor of the traffic and safety bureau of the Westfield Police Department, said this morning that concerns about the stretch of Elm Street between the Great River Bridge and Franklin Street forced planners to abandon the traditional parade route this year in favor of a plan which routes the parade from the Westfield State University commuter parking lot on Western Avenue down to the intersection with West Silver Street in the area of Pine Hill Cemetery and then down West Silver Street to the Memorial Day ceremony at Parker Park.
“It’s a little bit farther than the other route but not much” Pitoniak said.
He said that there are still steel plates covering holes in the roadway of Elm Street near Orange Street and, although the contractor’s schedule calls for the holes to be filled and the street paved by Friday, delays due to equipment failure or weather are a very real possibility.
“We couldn’t take that chance” he said.
Pitoniak said “We had been tossing around a couple of different plans just in case” the traditional route was untenable this year but the final decision was not made until late Tuesday.
He said that police officers will be on hand at the intersections of crossing streets and said that the major constrictions will be at intersections such as Pleasant Street and Kensington Avenue but said “we’ll be able to open them up pretty quickly.”
Pitoniak said that northbound traffic on Route 202 will be diverted to Mill Street at Cowles Bridge once the parade reaches Pleasant Street but acknowledged that both intersections will be blocked at the same time for a short period.
He said the parade is “still kicking off at 10 (a.m.)” and said Western Avenue will be open until the last minute as participants form up for the parade in the commuter lot.
“We’ll shut it (Western Avenue) down right before the parade”, Pitoniak said, and added “once we get going down (past) the streets we can open them up behind us.”
The ceremonies at Parker Park are expected to start about 11 a.m. and officer of the day Bill Cervonaygo will issue the commands to the veterans units at the park.
A middle school student will recite the Gettysburg Address and two winners of an essay contest sponsored by Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 219 will be recognized.
Local politicians and dignitaries will make brief remarks before the commanders of the city’s veterans groups gather to place a wreath at the flagpole in the park before the American Legion Post No. 124 firing squad fires three volleys and Taps is played by member of the American Legion Band.
When the parade steps out, it will be led by the parade marshal, Les Eldridge, the chairman of the city’s Veterans Council.
He will be preceded by a police cruiser and followed by a contingent from the VFW Apremont Post No. 1847, the veterans group he commands and the group responsible this year for planning the parade.
The VFW unit will be followed by the Westfield High School marching band which will be followed by representatives of the city’s police force and a contingent of politicians.
The politicians will be followed by a color guard and representatives of the 104th Fighter Group but there will be no fly over by the unit’s F-15 fighter jets as they have been deployed to Jordan for a multi-national exercise.
A contingent from the sheriff’s department will precede the North Middle School’s marching band which will be followed by former POWs and disabled veterans.
The American Legion Post No. 454 color guard and members will be followed by a similar unit from American Legion Post No. 124 who will be followed by their band.
The band will be followed by the color guard and members of the Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter No. 219 which will precede elements of the Westfield River Valley detachment of the U. S. Marine Corps League.
The Marines will be followed by a group of veterans of more recent military actions.
A cavalry group representing the Polish Army will conclude the military related units and will be followed by groups of Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Cub Scouts, Brownies and Daisy Scouts.
The scouts will be followed by contingents from a number of community organizations ranging from the Council on Aging to the Salvation Army.
That division of the parade will include the All City Elementary Band, a float from St. Mary’s School and a bus decorated by members of the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Westfield.
Units of the Westfield Fire Department including the department’s ladder truck will bring up the rear of the parade.
