Santa Claus parade to bring road closures to downtown Winnipeg

CTV's Thandi Vera catches up with Santa Claus about the excitement of returning to Winnipeg and spreading some holiday cheer.

The Manitoba Hydro Santa Claus Parade will be taking over downtown Winnipeg on Saturday, bringing temporary street closures with it.

To accommodate the event, the following closures will be in place from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturday:

• Memorial Boulevard in both directions between Broadway and Portage Avenue
• Portage Avenue in both directions between Main Street and St. Mary Avenue
• Southbound Main Street from William Avenue to York Avenue
• Northbound Edmonton Street from Graham Avenue to Portage Avenue
• Vaughan Street between Graham Avenue and Portage Avenue
• Portage Avenue East from Main Street to Westbrook Street

Other traffic impacts include local and parkade-access only for all other north-south streets from Main Street to Memorial Boulevard between Ellice Avenue and Broadway. Vehicles will not be able to cross Portage Avenue on any of these streets.

Drivers also won’t be able to cross Memorial Boulevard on eastbound York Street or westbound St. Mary Avenue but can use the road on either side of Memorial.

Broadway and northbound Main Street will stay open throughout the day but are expected to be busy. The city warns that many turn and travel restrictions will be in place on Ellice Avenue, York Avenue, Broadway, and Portage Avenue east of Main Street.

Winnipeg’s Santa Claus Parade begins at 5 p.m. The route starts westbound on Portage Avenue at Main Street. It then travels down Portage to Memorial Boulevard, turning onto Memorial and ending at Broadway.