How to navigate Calgary's roads during the Stampede parade

As Calgary Stampede kicks off with its parade on Friday, the city is encouraging spectators to walk, bike or take public transit to get downtown. 

The parade on July 8, lead by this year's marshal Kevin Costner, will cause a number of detours and closures to come into effect. 

Here is what you need to know.

Parade day closures and detours

The parade will begin July 8 at 9 a.m. along Ninth Avenue at Third Street S.E. and is expected to get to the midway point at 10th Street S.W. by 11 a.m. 

From there, the parade will head east along Sixth Avenue S.W. with a planned arrival at Stampede Park for 1 p.m. 

Starting at 6 a.m. on Friday the following roads will be closed for setup:

• Ninth Avenue S.E. between Eighth Street S.E. and Third Street S.E.
• Sixth Street S.E. between Seventh Avenue S.E. and Ninth Avenue S.E.
• Fifth Street S.E. between Seventh Avenue S.E. and Ninth Avenue S.E.
• Sixth Avenue S.E. between Third Street S.E. and Fifth Street S.E.
• Seventh Avenue S.E. between Fourth Street S.E. and Sixth Street S.E.
• Eighth Avenue S.E. between Fourth Street S.E. and Sixth Street S.E.

During the parade, from 7:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. the following roads will be closed:

• Fourth Street S.E. between Sixth Avenue S.E. and Ninth Avenue S.E.
• Third Street S.E. between Fourth Avenue S.E. and Ninth Avenue S.E.
• Westbound Sixth Avenue from Third Street S.E. to 11th Street S.W.
• 10th Street S.W. from Sixth Avenue S.W. to Ninth Avenue S.W.
• Eastbound Ninth Avenue from 11th Street S.W. to Third Street S.E.
• The morning connector from Bow Trail to westbound Fifth Avenue S.W. will be open from 6 a.m. to 7 a.m. only.

Alternate routes into downtown:

• Eastbound traffic on Ninth Avenue will be directed to 11th Street S.W.
• Motorists are advised to use Fifth Avenue or 12th Avenue to bypass the closures.
• Motorists are encouraged to use Blackfoot Trail, Stoney Trail, Crowchild Trail, 16th Avenue, and Deerfoot Trail as alternate routes into downtown.

Calgary Transit

The CTrains will continue to run as usual. All downtown stations are within one block of the parade route.

However, there will be detours for many bus routes on parade day due to the road closures downtown. Visit Calgary Transit's website for a full list of changes.

For the duration of the Stampede, from the evening of July 7 until the morning of July 18, there will be 24-hour CTrain service.

Parking lot closures

The following Calgary Parking Authority lots will be closed on July 8 from 7:30 a.m. until 2 p.m.:

• Platform Parkade (Lot 62)
• City Hall Parkade (Lot 36)
• Arts Commons Parkade (Lot 24)
• Centennial Parkade (Lot 54)
• Telus Convention Centre Parkade (Lot 60)
• Lot 7 (208 Ninth Ave. S.W.)

Additional parking lot closures:

• Lots 55 and 75 in East Village will be closed from July 7 at 6 p.m. until July 8 at 4 p.m. 
• City Centre Parkade (Lot 25) will only be accessible via 10th Avenue S.W.