50-year Pierce County parade gets green light after concerns of cancelation
The annual Wilkeson Days parade will go forward after organizers and the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) resolved permit concerns.
The parade has used the same route for 50 years, and plans to do so again for year 51 on July 25. Kiarra Pipkin, president of the Wilkeson Booster Club, is organizing the event. She confirmed that the permit to close down state Route 165 in the area to use as the parade route was approved by WSDOT Monday.
The route will be the same, Pipkin said, but they are allowed a shorter, 35-minute window this year for the closure. The parade starts at 11 a.m. on Railroad Avenue next to Wilkeson Town Hall, The News Tribune previously reported.
Pipkin told The News Tribune last week that they submitted the permit application in April for the highway closure to WSDOT. The permit did not get approved, according to Pipkin, and she said a WSDOT representative told them they would need to find an alternate route to run the parade or hire someone to handle traffic control for the parade. This was due to the complaints WSDOT has received in the past regarding the road closure for the parade.
WSDOT confirmed to The News Tribune last week that they had gotten complaints about the closure, and said the department was still allowing the booster club to use SR 165 for the parade.
“We are in conversation with Wilkeson Mayor Travis Waldher, and the Wilkeson Booster Club, organizers of the event, in using an alternative traffic control plan and outreach strategy for this event that may differ from prior years,” WSDOT spokesperson Cara Mitchell told The News Tribune via email Thursday.
Waldher told The News Tribune last week that a detailed plan was sent over to WSDOT to use a notification system so Wilkeson residents and residents of surrounding areas would be aware of the date and time of the road closure for the parade.
On Monday, Pipkin said the booster club plans to send out mailers to residents in Wilkeson, Carbonado and the small developments outside of town limits.
