On March 4, the Pagosa Springs Town Council decided that it will forgo a traditional motorized Fourth of July parade for this year’s celebrations, mainly due to the Colorado Department of Transportation’s (CDOT’s) U.S. 160 reconstruction project happening this summer.
Instead of a parade, the council opted to have a celebration at Yamaguchi Park that will lead into the annual fireworks display, fire danger permitting.
At the previous meeting, Parks and Recreation Director Darren Lewis brought three options before the council: to have a parade following the same route as 2024’s parade, to have a “stationary” parade on 6th Street or to have celebration at Yamaguchi Park.
But, this time around, after being implored at the last meeting by council member Leonard Martinez and Mayor Shari Pierce to keep exploring motorized parade route options, Lewis brought some new potential routes for the council to consider.
The 8th Street option, mentioned by Martinez at the previous meeting, was ultimately rejected, with Lewis saying that staff “did not feel like that was the right route to go.”
Lewis explained that having a parade route on a residential street would require “the closing of each and every driveway” along that street for both the staging and the actual parade.
Another idea, he stated, is to stage the parade on Hermosa Street and then have the parade go from Hot Springs Boulevard to Yamaguchi Park.
But, during public comment, Pagosa Springs Area Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Mary Jo Coulehan expressed concern that anything involving Hermosa Street, including staging for a Hot Springs Boulevard route, would cause disruption to the annual arts and crafts festival in Town Park.
She noted that Hermosa Street is usually shut down to allow pedestrian-only traffic between the parks for those attending the festival.
Lewis added that he had spoken to Coulehan and that he “can’t disagree with her” about anything involving Hermosa Street for a parade.
“We’re trying to give you options, but if we are going to have a parade, it’s gonna either be down Hermosa Street, and if that’s what you want, then that’s what we’ll do, or having the parade the way we did it last year,” he said.
Public Works Director Karl Johnson suggested using the five-acre parking area near The Springs Resort, whom the town entered into an agreement with for public parking during CDOT’s roadway reconstruction, for staging for a parade down Hot Springs Boulevard.
This would have allowed the town to keep the north section of the street open, allowing access in and out of The Springs Resort. Hindered access to the resort during last year’s parade was one of the main complaints of the Hot Springs Boulevard route, Lewis explained.
This would also allow parking for the parade to be at Reservoir Hill, which was used as the staging area last year, and would keep parking for the vendors of the arts-and-crafts event, which is also at Mary Fisher Park, he indicated.
“If we staged it in the five acres, we could close Hot Springs Boulevard off just to the south of Spring Street so if people came down Hot Springs Boulevard there’s a way to turn around,” he said.
However, Pagosa Springs Police Chief Bill Rockensock said, “This is the first I’ve heard about the five-acre thing, and as I understand it, there’s logistical issues with that … because when you talk about parking there, there’s a problem with grade in that area.”
Lewis said that this idea “just came about, and I guess what I’m saying is that if you decide you want a parade, you’ve heard three options … and if it’s a possibility to stage it on these five acres and if that will work ... from what I see, if we were do this on the five acres, we’re not messing up the flow of traffic from The Springs Resort.”
“In two months, they will have tripled their occupancy,” he said, speaking to the resort expansion, “and if we close that off, we’re talking about people not being able to leave from 8:30 in the morning until 11.”
He added, “The chaos, we all know, is going to occur on [highway] 160, and we are trying to look at the least chaotic situation if we are going to have a parade.”
Pierce expressed that her main concern is if the town hosts a parade on Hot Springs Boulevard, “How are we going to get the floats there? Because we can’t really have them coming through that construction zone.”
Lewis then reminded the council, “You know, the other option,” instead of a motorized parade, “is a Yamaguchi [Park] celebration.”
When opened to comments from the council, it became apparent that the body was moving toward the idea of temporarily skipping the parade during CDOT’s reconstruction project in favor of a celebration at Yamaguchi Park.
Council member Mat deGraaf said, “It seems like every option [for a motorized parade] is riddled with unknowns and questions. I am not in favor of having a parade.”
Council member Gary Williams added, “I’m with my colleague here. There’s a lot of disruptions with CDOT. We all know that. The town understands that, so I’m in favor of a fair in Yamaguchi Park for the Fourth of July that rolls right into the music and fireworks.”
Council member Madeline Bergon said, “I could also agree that a community celebration” at the park would amount “to the path of least resistance for this year, and it opens up opportunities for more volunteer buy-in from local nonprofit groups and would alleviate some of the pressure on town staff.”
She added, “Hopefully, this would lead to more relationships, as we move back to a parade, with some of those volunteers who will be willing to do some of that heavy lifting when we decide to put a parade on again, so I would like to start fostering those relationships.”
Pierce said, “My heart wants us to have a parade for our community, but my head tells me it’s not really gonna be feasible, because of the construction and traffic and lack of parking.”
She added that she hoped a small, parade-like event could at least be organized for the youth, with Lewis adding that honoring “our veterans and first responders could be part of that,” and “town staff would come up with something.”
“So, I feel like the motorized parade is off the table,” Pierce said, asking the council what it thought about a stationary parade on 6th Street.
It became apparent that the council was in favor of the celebration at Yamaguchi Park, with Pierce saying it looks like “we’re going towards the celebration” at the park.
She directed staff “to see what you guys can do.”
More details on the Fourth of July celebration will be reported as they are decided.
derek@pagosasun.com
