Mayor LaToya Cantrell is considering moving all parades for the upcoming 2022 season onto St. Charles. Mayoral Communications Director Beau Tidwell released a statement saying they’re concerned about the lack of available first responders to cover parades in other parts of the city.
Tidwell said the following:
“Conversations around potential changes to some routes are in the early stages. No decisions have been made. We will remain in close contact with our krewe captains, and we invite their input. As we have said: we have concerns regarding the bandwidth and capacity of our first-responders, who have been under intense strain throughout the pandemic. When Mardi Gras comes back, we want to do it in the safest way possible: in terms of public health and in terms of public safety.”
Despite the potential shifting of all parades onto an Uptown route (rumored to start at Napoleon) the festivities seem to be on track to proceed.
Tidwell said the numbers are trending in the right direction for the first Mardi Gras since 2020.
“The good news is --- we are on track for the return of Mardi Gras in 2022! Unless we see a dramatic turn for the worse in our COVID numbers, Mardi Gras will roll once again!”