CLEVELAND, Ohio — Is Cleveland's beloved St. Patrick's Day Parade in jeopardy?
Some organizers fear the upcoming Cleveland Midway/Superior Midway project along Superior Avenue could result in it ending forever.
RELATED: 'I get it, but I'm worried,' Ohio City businesses brace for Lorain Midway
Parade officials told News 5 they are considering moving the parade out of Cleveland entirely because of the impending road project.
They claim the Midway will make cars, floats and crowds nearly impossible to fit along the route.
However, City of Cleveland officials say there is an open and ongoing dialogue.
They are actively working through the ever-changing process.
Patrick Murphy is a proud Irish Clevelander.
His family immigrated to Lakewood from the Emerald Isle when he was one year old, and he celebrates his roots every year at the downtown St. Patrick's Day parade.
"It's our opportunity to show the City of Cleveland and people we live with how proud we are of our religion and heritage," Murphy said.
Captured in countless shared photos and even published in a book, some of his fondest and most cherished memories happened at the annual celebration.
"I love the crowds coming down. I love being able to see all the people. People I've never seen before in my life who are there to celebrate," Murphy said.
The Director Emeritus of the Cleveland St. Patrick's Day Parade Committee is worried those photos will now be just a memory due to the upcoming Cleveland Midway Project running down Superior Avenue.
"There's really no good viable alternative for us," Murphy said.
The $25 million raised, landscaped median with a sidewalk bike path down the middle of Superior will run from Public Square to East 55th Street.
The goal is to make Cleveland a 15-minute travel city—all while prioritizing drivers and walkers' well-being by cutting down on speeding and major crashes.
Data shows Superior Avenue east of I-90 is the third highest corridor for fatal and serious injury crashes in Cleveland.
"It's really important for us to incorporate safety features and what we know will make the street as safe as possible day in and day out," Calley Mersmann, Senior Strategist for Transit and Mobility with the City of Cleveland, said.
While he says he understands the safety aspect, Murphy says there's one big problem with the project.
It falls directly along the parade route, and he says it will narrow the space entirely once completed.
"This really puts us in jeopardy because if you're gonna do this, put this 28 foot raised platform in the middle of the roadway, you're gonna squeeze us to a point where we're not gonna survive on Superior," Murphy said.
He says if there's an emergency, crews will never be able to travel through the area.
"We're gonna lose a lot of our entertainment units, and we might have to start looking for another place to put the parade," Murphy said.
In a letter sent to Murphy and shared with News 5, City of Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb calls the Superior Midway project a "once in a generation infrastructure investment."
He says his staff has met with the parade committee 10 times and explored design alternatives to accommodate parade staging, public safety access and unit spacing.
Bibb says those discussions involved compromises such as eliminating landscaping on the north side of the median, adding extra ramps to facilitate police motorcycle unit access, and investments in crowd control barricades and an updated security process.
The mayor says those did not ultimately meet the needs of the parade committee, and rerouting is the only remaining option.
"The parade details are up to the parade organizers. The City of Cleveland is a big supporter and partner of keeping the parade downtown as it has been for decades," Mersmann said.
Mersmann says the city contributes more than $245,000 in resources to the parade's success each year and is an important partner.
In the meantime, Murphy says he only needs six feet of landscaping to be removed from the design.
If that happens, they can keep the parade along the route.
Otherwise, he says the parade, as most Clevelanders know it, could be history.
"Give us 30 feet of roadway, and we think we can do this," Murphy said.
Mersmann says the plan is in place ,and the project will move forward.
"Sorry we can't compromise on this element. And if you need more space, we are more than happy to work with you to find another street to be on," Mersmann said.
Superior Midway construction is slated for late 2025.
City officials say a St. Clair Avenue route is a potential option for a new parade.
The City of Cleveland further states that it is committed to keeping the parade route along Superior Avenue unchanged for 2025 and 2026.
Parade goers would see immediate changes in 2027.
Murphy told News 5 that they may consider pulling out of Cleveland entirely based on what happens next.
He is requesting to meet with city leaders again for further discussions.
Read Murphy's letter below:
Mayor Bibb,
I would respectfully request another meeting with you to discuss the future of the St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Cleveland.
At your suggestion we brought about 35 people downtown to the site suggested by your office to “mock up” a 24 foot parade route. We are convinced that such a narrow roadway is simply not safe for parade participants nor the viewing public.
The Parade is a valued tradition in Cleveland regularly billed as the largest annual single day drawing event downtown. RTA annually reports that St. Patrick’s Day is its largest ridership day of the year. It was just reported that we are the 5th largest parade in the nation and one of the oldest, 2025 being our 183rd anniversary. Every year we put 125 or more units on the route comprising about 10,000 participants, including many children’s units, high school bands, horses, motorized units and more. We have drawn over 600,000 viewers when the sun is shining.
I recently received 60,000 photographs of the parade from our retired photographer. I would like the opportunity to share some of those with you. I think you will be astounded by the size of our participating units and the crowd that comes downtown. I am attaching two pictures to this message. One is from my phone taken inside the Hyatt Hotel on Superior. That hotel sells out a two night minimum every year. People only started staying there when we moved the route to Superior around 2004. That will go away if we leave Superior or downtown. The second photo was from 2012 when we had a nice sunny day. Cleveland Police told us they estimated 650,000 people downtown for the parade. What is significant about this photo is that it was taken after the parade. The people you see are parade viewers who followed the end of the parade to public square.
We are not asking the City to stop the Superior Midway project, just to temper it by a few feet so the we can also “share the road.”
Please let me know if you will meet with us.
Patrick T. Murphy
Read Bibb's statement below:
Good Evening Patrick,
Thank you for your email. The St. Patrick's Day parade is indeed a treasured tradition in Cleveland. As you know, I have had the pleasure of attending and participating in the parade for several years.
The $25 million Superior Midway project is a once-in-a-generation infrastructure investment to improve traffic safety, provide equitable transportation options, and beautify the street. As a city, we must balance the considerations of the parade with ensuring the integrity of the project, and we have endeavored to do just that. My staff have engaged with you in depth over the past year and a half to explore Superior Midway adjustments that could better accommodate the parade, including ten meetings and a detailed exploration of design alternatives to accommodate parade staging, public safety access, and unit spacing. Those discussions led to offers of compromises such as eliminating landscaping on the north side of the median, adding extra ramps to facilitate police motorcycle unit access, and investments in crowd control barricades and an updated security process. Unfortunately, those did not ultimately meet the needs of the parade committee and rerouting is the only remaining option.
Like Cleveland, the St. Patrick's Day parade has a rich and storied history, and like Cleveland, it has persisted by adapting and adjusting over time to meet the needs of the moment. The City of Cleveland contributes over $245,000 of in-kind resources to the parade's success each year, and is an important partner in producing the parade our community knows and loves. We look forward to evolving forward together for the next chapter.
Best Regards,
Mayor Justin Bibb
