NEW ORLEANS – Work crews are out in force this afternoon taking down ladders and viewing stands that have already been placed along parade routes.
At a press conference detailing the city’s preparations for Mardi Gras 2018, Parks and Parkways Director Ann Macdonald said the removal effort began this morning.
“Parks and Parkways along with Sanitation has begun enforcement as it relates to our public green spaces,” Macdonald said. “Any ladders or personal effects that are on public green spaces including the right of ways and neutral grounds today will be removed.”
There is a time to set up along the parade route, but that time has not yet come, Macdonald said.
“Items cannot be placed along the parade route more than 24 hours before the start of the parade,” she said.
If you have already staked out your space with ladders or other items, consider them gone.
“We will be disposing of those items that we pick up,” she said. “We will be doing constant sweeps until Friday, removing all items left, and we will continue that next week.”
Crews were spotted on Marengo and St. Charles shortly after Macdonald’s announcement cutting chains securing ladders in place, tossing the ladders into trucks, and hauling them away.
“This is a warning,” Macdonald said. “If you have not placed them, do not place them more than 24 hours before the start of a parade. A parade has to be imminent in order for you to place a ladder or a personal effect out.”