Starting this year, big rigs will no longer be allowed in Peachtree City’s Fourth of July parade.
The move for this year’s celebration, on July 3 since the fourth falls on a Sunday, is for safety, according to Peachtree City recreation staff.
It is difficult for kids and adults along the parade route to be seen by those driving 18-wheelers, staff explained.
“We don’t have barricades along the entire route like some of the larger cities do, so there is nothing to separate people from vehicles,” said Randy Gaddo, director of the city’s Leisure Services department.
Gaddo said one 18-wheeler previously allowed in the parade was so large it couldn’t make the turn at Peachtree Parkway and McIntosh Trail without moving barricades and people out of the way.
The decision was made after several oversized parade entries were allowed last year, officials said.
And though it will not be a requirement, the department is asking residents to further limit the size of their floats so they may be pulled, for example, by a full-sized pickup in the range of an Ford F-150 or F-250.
The department has received complaints that the parade has become too commercialized in recent years, and so the city will be reminding entrants to put more effort into their floats, vehicles and golf carts.
Also this year, groups consisting of performing groups or just walkers will not be allowed to participate unless they agree to not stop along the route to perform.
Groups who stop to perform have led to gaps in the parade that “last much longer than necessary” and have created confusion among spectators who thought the parade was over and packed up to go home, officials said.
Another new restriction this year is a ban on all garbage trucks except those hired by the city to clean the parade route after it is complete, officials said.
A complete list of rules is available at www.ptcrecreation.org.
