Photo courtesy of Good Boy Mfg.

In weeks leading to event, town’s new policy on chairs and parking auction ripped on social media

By Tara Fischer

Staff Writer

Berlin’s annual Christmas Parade last week went off without a hitch, with staff giving positive reports on the new chair placement restrictions, favorable weather, and the new parking lot at the corner of West and Washington streets.

That was the assessment presented to the Berlin mayor and council Monday, Dec. 8 during an event review.

The procession took place on Thursday, Dec. 4, beginning at 7 p.m., featuring performances by local high school and middle school bands and choirs, along with floats.

Last week was the 54th year of the popular parade, and Berlin leaders maintained that it was one of the smoothest the town has seen.

“Every year it gets better and better and I think this year just from the planning standpoint, the day of, the after reports, just talking to other staff, talking to the community, talking with police, it was completely uneventful with the exception of the event,” said Ivy Wells, the town’s economic and community development director.

Part of the reason for that success, staff said, was the enforcement of the new policy that restricted when residents and visitors could place chairs and blankets along Main Street to reserve their seats.

In previous years, it wasn’t uncommon for the pedestrian paths to be lined with chairs by 6 a.m. the day of the Christmas Parade by those looking to ensure a front row viewing position.

However, this year, the municipality announced that seats could not be set up until the road was officially closed for the event, about two hours before the start time.

Town staff and elected officials said that the decision was made to enforce this restriction to maintain safety.

Wind would often blow chairs onto the road, creating traffic hazards, and the sidewalks would be too crammed for shoppers, especially those with disabilities, to conveniently navigate.

The chair policy will be enforced for other popular events, including the summertime Bathtub Races. Last week’s festivity was the first time the new standard was set, and, per Monday’s post-parade discussions, citizens and visitors complied, enhancing the Christmas procession.

“Not one single chair was removed from Main Street all day,” Wells said. “Our department did not receive any calls about chairs all day.”

Town Administrator Mary Bohlen added that Town Hall got just two calls from eventgoers, and they were confirming the time when chairs were allowed on the sidewalks.

Town of Berlin Public Works Director Jimmy Charles said that without the chairs taking up space, pedestrians could easily stroll downtown, shop, and patronize establishments.

“We’re an active tourist destination,” he said. “Retail stores are open during the day…there were groups of people going into stores, out of stores, to the restaurants, all throughout the day. And the chairs not being there doesn’t create a safety issue…

“And, it keeps our clean appearance, our unique appearance, of what we are. There are no chairs on the streets. People are here to see. There were a lot of people here during the day who didn’t go to the parade. Travelers are coming through. We had groups of people here shopping.”

Wells concurred, noting the downtown businesses “had one of the busiest Thursday parade days they had in years.”

Staff and officials also credited the smooth Christmas Parade to the new carpark on the corner of West and Washington streets. The lot opened earlier this year and on Thursday night, alleviated traffic and overcrowded parking.

Charles said his crew was on-site, helping park cars, and that the lot was packed all the way back to the railroad tracks. He maintained that the spots were filled by around 6 p.m. or 6:30 p.m.

“It appeared that the side streets were less congested because people knew they could go to that parking lot, and that was a designated area,” Berlin Mayor Zack Tyndall said. “Historically, it is a bottleneck after bottleneck on our tight side streets. I felt like it was lighter this year because we had that [lot].”

Berlin Police Chief Arnold Downing added that the extra lot allows cars to spread out among all the parking areas in town, reducing overcrowding.

Additionally, a few lucky parade goers were able to secure prime parking spots in the War Memorial Parking Lot downtown. Sara Gorfinkel, the mayor’s executive administrative assistant, spearheaded an auction ahead of the event, giving visitors the chance to bid on one of 11 spaces to raise funds for a proposed $30 million community center in Berlin.

Each parking spot was sold. The effort raised almost $1,000 for the facility.

“A number of people told me they would have paid more for [the parking spots] if they had to,” she said.

Charles added that clear skies and not yet bitterly cold weather also helped create a successful parade night.