Plans set for parade route and road closures to celebrate USC women’s basketball team
Plans have been finalized for the parade to celebrate the national champion University of South Carolina women’s basketball team.
On Wednesday, about a week and a half after the Gamecocks won the NCAA Tournament title game, a celebration will take place in downtown Columbia.
The highlight of the event will be a parade that starts at 6 p.m., city officials said in a Monday news release.
The parade will begin at the intersection of Main and Laurel streets, according to the release. It will travel several blocks before it turns left onto Gervais Street, then right onto Sumter Street, before another left onto Senate Street where it will end at the South Carolina State House.
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“We are excited to announce this celebration in honor of our Gamecocks,” Columbia Mayor Daniel Rickenmann said. “Coach (Dawn) Staley’s hard work has turned the University of South Carolina into a national powerhouse. This team made us proud all year and a parade downtown is a great way for us to showcase that pride.”
Rickenmann will invite elected officials, government entities and community partners to join Columbia and USC officials in the parade, according to university officials.
To make the parade as smooth as possible, several downtown roads will be closed along the route.
At 4 p.m., the 1100 and 1200 blocks of Richland Street, the 1100 and 1200 blocks of Laurel Street, as well as the 1800 and 1900 blocks of Main Street will be blocked, according to the release.
Closer to the kickoff of the parade at 5:30 p.m., more roads will be closed. That includes from 1200-1700 Main Street, 1100-1300 Gervais Street, 1000-1100 Sumter Street, in addition to 1300 and 1400 Senate Street, as well as 1000 and 1100 Marion Street, officials said.
The roads are scheduled to reopen once the parade has ended and clean-up is completed.
There will be no parking on those roads, and violators will be towed, according to the release.
City of Columbia parking services ambassadors will be in touch with Main Street business owners in the coming days to discuss plans for parking on Wednesday.
Additional parking plans in downtown affect multiple city parking decks.
There will be free public parking at the Washington Deck (1100 Washington St.), Cannon Deck (1227 Taylor St.), Taylor Deck (1101 Taylor St.), and the Park Street Deck (1007 Park St.), officials said. The Park Street Deck will also serve as a shuttle stop from 5-9 p.m.
Standard parking rates will be in place at both the Sumter Deck (1415 Sumter St.) and Lincoln Deck (820 Washington St.), while there will be no public parking allowed at the Lady Deck (1100 Lady St.), according to the release.
The weather forecast for Wednesday night shows temperatures in the 60s at night, and only a 10% chance of precipitation in Columbia.
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This story was originally published April 11, 2022 at 10:50 AM.
