Canada Day celebrations kick off at 11:30 a.m. July 1 in Charlottetown's Victoria Park, but traffic restrictions will come into effect even earlier as preparations get underway.

Cars won't be allowed on the road along the boardwalk along the Victoria Park shoreline starting at 6 a.m. Friday.

It will reopen to traffic at 11 a.m. Saturday. During the closure, only emergency vehicles will be allowed through.

The annual fireworks are slated to begin at 10 p.m. Friday. In the lead-up to the display and during the show, a section of the bike lane and boardwalk will be closed temporarily.

Parking restrictions near the park will be in place as well.

There will be no parking along Brighton Road between Ambrose Street and Queen Elizabeth Drive. Parking won't be permitted near the intersection of Brighton Road and Queen Elizabeth Drive, Greenfield Avenue, Goodwill Avenue, Century Terrace, and Ambrose Street. Signage and barricades will be in place.

All of the city's downtown parkades — located on Queen, Pownal and Fitzroy streets — will be free on July 1.

The parking lot on Terry Fox Drive, between Victoria Park and the provincial government office buildings, will also be open.

City officials encourage the public to use any of these lots for free on Canada Day.