New parade rules in 2014?

If City Councilwoman LaToya Cantrell gets her way, you might notice a few changes at the Mardi Gras parades in 2014.  The Councilwoman, whose district includes much of the Uptown parade routes until they cross underneath the Westbank Expressway, heard many complaints from her constituents last year. Cantrell is now looking to put together new City ordinances based on those complaints.

Here’s a few of those ordinances that are in the works for future parade seasons:

Floats could only be used twice – I’m not naming any names, but there were some floats that I saw being used in just about every Uptown parade last year. The new rules would limit the amount of times a float could be used to only two parades.

Ladders should be 10 feet back – The current rule is that ladders have to be as far back from the curb as they are tall, which makes it hard for the police to enforce.

No grills in the intersections - Grills would join the list of furniture banned from intersections.

Weight limits for throws – It’s not a lot of fun getting hit by a whole bag of beads or other large objects, so this ordinance would set a weight limit on throws.

Limit of 30 parade permits – Last year there were 34 full fledged Mardi Gras parades. To bring that number under control, the limit in future years would be 30. I pretty much believe the more parades the merrier, but I can understand the Police and Sanitation Departments, as well as other city workers, wanting to put a limit on them.

Preference for local food trucks – New Orleans is quickly becoming a food truck city, but the popular local trucks were mostly absent from last year’s parades. Cantrell is looking for a way to better connect them with parade-goers.

No parking on both sides of parade routes – Right now, you can still park on the opposite sides of the parade routes, if by some miracle you find a parking spot there. However, to make it easier for emergency vehicles and traffic in general to get through, they want to make both sides no parking before, during and after parades.

Maps of public toilets – Anyone that’s been to a Mardi Gras parade or two knows how hard it is to find a bathroom. Cantrell wants the city to offer more public bathrooms and put a map online that shows people where to find them.