Local business owners and leaders in the business community are celebrating Friday’s announcement that the city’s annual Fourth of July Parade will return to Lincoln Avenue this summer.

“It’s a wonderful move,” said Peter Tugolawicz, manager at F.M. Light & Sons. “(Lincoln has) wider streets, more room to move. It is best for both people and businesses. We are happy to see things return to the way they were.”

The parade was shifted one block over onto Yampa Street when a large mudslide closed Interstate 70 through Glenwood Canyon on June 27, 2021. The closure lasted for more than a month and because the interstate traffic had to be rerouted onto U.S. Highway 40 through Steamboat Springs, which is also Lincoln Avenue, city officials decided to move the parade to Yampa Street to help alleviate congestion during the interstate closure.

The following summer, the parade remained on Yampa Street, much to the dismay of some residents and a number of business owners on Lincoln Avenue. Ty Lockhart, whose family owns F.M. Light & Sons, authored a letter to the editor and even took out a full-page ad in the Steamboat Pilot advocating for the parade’s return to Lincoln. 

“The July 4 parade has been a long-standing tradition on main street in Steamboat Springs for over 100 years,” Lockhart wrote in his letter to the editor. “It is at risk of being diminished and reduced in importance. … Watching the parade for over seven decades, I have many fond memories: from the pageantry, the Sousa marching tunes, the horses and riders all decked out in their finest, the flags flapping in the breeze, the kazoo band, the kids on bicycles with their streamers, the floats with all the stunts and antics, including throwing candy and snow balls. This is down-home Americana at its best. Out of respect for what it symbolizes, let’s keep the parade as it historically has been.”

On Friday, the Steamboat Chamber also welcomed the news.

“The Chamber is thrilled to be able to bring the parade back to Lincoln this year,” Chamber CEO Sarah Leonard said via email. “We are proud stewards of this longstanding event and heard from many community members and businesses the importance of this tradition. Thank you to the many community organizations and for the city’s partnership in making this happen.”

Earlier this week, city officials had said that as long as the proper safety protocols could be put in place, the parade would be funneled back onto Lincoln Avenue, where the city holds many of its signature events including the bulk of the Winter Carnival events that take place every February in Steamboat.

City officials had promised an announcement by Friday, and that announcement came Friday afternoon.

“While we don’t have a signed contract at this time, the traffic control vendor has committed to the mandatory requirements necessary to move the event back to Lincoln,” City Manager Gary Suiter said in a Friday news release. “Public Safety remains a top priority and we appreciate everyone’s patience as all parties worked through the process to ensure a safe event.”

According to the news release, the parade traffic plan will use a circular configuration that sees U.S. Highway 40 eastbound traffic diverted from Lincoln Avenue onto Yampa Street and westbound traffic funneled onto Oak Street. According to the release, the city is working with a traffic control company to set up the detours.

Additionally, people are encouraged to use Steamboat Springs High School’s parking lot as an option for public parking.

During the July 4 closure of Lincoln Avenue, temporary bus stops for westbound Steamboat Springs Transit routes will be on Oak at Fifth, Seventh and Ninth streets. Eastbound bus routes will use the same cross streets but with temporary stops on Yampa Street. Buses are expected to return to normal operations when Lincoln Avenue reopens.

Drivers looking to access neighborhoods north of downtown should utilize third, fourth and 12th streets. Residential side streets approaching Oak Street between fifth and 11th will not be permitted to turn left on Oak but will need to follow the circular detour.

The city is also asking lodging shuttles to use the parking lot at Third and Oak next to Wells Fargo for drop off and pick up during the closure.

The Fifth Street Bridge will be closed to northbound traffic during the parade. All traffic accessing Howelsen Hill, the Ice Arena or Brooklyn neighborhood should use River Road on July Fourth.