New Orleans' Mardi Gras Parade Routes: What to Do If You're Stuck There

If your car dies on a New Orleans parade route, move fast. The city bans parking on the route two hours before each parade starts, and NOPD closes the street to cars. Once that happens, no truck can reach you until the route clears. Call for help as soon as the car quits, give the nearest cross street, and say which parade route you're on. If the street is already closed, wait it out or meet your driver on an open block.

Why is a breakdown on a parade route different?

On a normal Tuesday, a dead battery on St. Charles Avenue is a simple call. Your driver pulls up, clips on, and you're gone. During Carnival, the street itself becomes the problem.

Here's what the city's NOLA Ready Mardi Gras page says happens on parade days:

• Parking stops two hours before. Parking is restricted along parade routes two hours before and after each parade. That gives floats and cleanup crews the street.
• NOPD closes the route. Before a parade begins, or when the crowd gets big, police close the route to all cars.
• Closures move. Extra short closures pop up as the parade travels across the city.
• Buses detour too. RTA detours start two hours before a parade and stay until crews finish cleaning the route.

So a car that quits at noon is an easy fix. The same car at parade time sits behind barricades with a crowd around it. Timing is everything.

Which Uptown streets lose parking on parade days?

The city's last posted list showed these Uptown streets as no parking on either side, two hours before and after parades. Which ones apply depends on the parade route that night.

• St. Charles Avenue from Napoleon Avenue to Canal Street
• Napoleon Avenue from Tchoupitoulas Street to S. Claiborne Avenue
• Tchoupitoulas Street from Jackson Avenue to Nashville Avenue
• Tchoupitoulas Street from Poydras Street to Calliope Street
• Magazine Street from Napoleon Avenue to Upperline Street

Floats for the Uptown route also line up on Napoleon Avenue back toward Tchoupitoulas, and on Magazine Street between Napoleon and Jefferson Avenue. Cross streets along Magazine stay open until the parades roll. If your car stalls on one of those blocks while floats are staging, a truck may not fit past them.

Signs on the block are the final word. The city tells drivers to follow all posted signs, so read the one closest to your car.

What about Endymion and Mid-City?

Endymion runs on a different clock. On the city's last posted list, parking was banned from 6 a.m. until two hours after the parade ended, on either side of these streets:

• Canal Street from S. Carrollton Avenue to Tchoupitoulas Street
• N. Carrollton Avenue from Canal Street to Orleans Avenue
• Orleans Avenue from City Park Avenue to N. Carrollton Avenue
• Tchoupitoulas Street from Canal Street to Julia Street
• Julia Street from Tchoupitoulas Street to Convention Center Boulevard
• Convention Center Boulevard to Henderson Street

That is most of the day. If you park in Mid-City the morning of Endymion and your battery is weak, don't wait until the evening to test it. A slow crank at 8 a.m. is a jump on an open street. The same problem at 6 p.m. is a long night.

Can a truck get into the French Quarter during Carnival?

Often not. During the busiest stretch, NOPD only lets residents, employees, hotel guests, taxis and rideshare cars drive into the Quarter. That covers the area inside Iberville, Decatur, Dumaine and Rampart Streets. Bourbon Street from Canal to Dumaine, and the 700 and 800 blocks of the cross streets, close to all cars.

If your car is parked inside the Quarter and won't start, plan to wait until the closure lifts, then have it moved once cars are allowed back. A car lockout is the same story. Your driver needs a street they can legally reach.

Will the city tow a dead car off the route?

It can. NOLA Ready warns drivers to pay attention when parking "to avoid being ticketed or towed." The city's towing rules also say it may tow cars right away in the interest of public safety. A car stuck on a route at parade time blocks floats, police and fire trucks.

Louisiana law agrees. Under R.S. 32:141, if your car breaks down on the main part of a road, you must move it as soon as you can. Until then, it's on you to protect traffic. Hazards on, and stay off the street when floats or crowds are close.

Sentinel does not do impounds. If your car is gone, call the city at (504) 658-8100 to confirm a tow. That line is answered 24 hours. The tow lot is at 400 N. Claiborne Avenue, open 7:30 a.m. to 10 p.m., 7 days a week. You pay in person before the car is released. Questions about a ticket or tow hearing go to (504) 658-8250. If your car was booted, not towed, the city lists 1-866-422-6961 for release.

Where should you park so a breakdown stays easy?

The best fix is a spot a truck can reach on any day. The city's Mardi Gras parking reminders list what gets cars ticketed or towed:

• Within 15 feet of a fire hydrant, or within 3 feet of a driveway
• Within 20 feet of a crosswalk, intersection or stop sign
• On the neutral ground, or along neutral ground curbs
• On sidewalks, in fire lanes or in bike lanes
• More than 2 hours in a Residential Parking Permit zone without a permit
• Facing the wrong way on a one way street

The fire department adds one more: don't park at an intersection or in the street, even if the parade has that street blocked. A blocked street still has to let a fire truck through.

Park a few blocks off the route, legally, and snap a photo of the nearest street sign. If the car won't start after the parade, your driver can get to you once the route reopens.

What should you do if the car quits on the route right now?

1. Check the clock. If the parade starts in more than two hours, call for help now. Your driver can still reach you.
2. If the route is closed, stay out of it. Don't push a car through a crowd or past barricades. Tell the nearest officer your car is disabled.
3. Find an open street. If the car has to wait, pick a cross street outside the closure for the meeting spot.
4. Call 911 if anyone is hurt or a car is stuck where traffic is moving. Sentinel is not an emergency service.

NOPD also sets up safe crossings so people and emergency vehicles can cross the route before and right after parades. The city's list named Poydras Street at St. Charles Avenue for Uptown, and Galvez Street at Canal Street for Endymion. Those are good landmarks to give your driver.

Which roadside fixes work near a parade?

Most parade day problems are small. A jump start handles a battery drained by lights or a phone charger during a long wait. A flat tire change puts your spare on after a curb or a stray throw. If the car won't run, a tow to a shop moves it once the street opens. For the bridges, interstates and flood season, see our New Orleans towing page.

How does Sentinel help on a parade day?

Sentinel Towing is a towing and roadside network, not a tow company. A vetted local partner tow company does the job. We text your locked price before anyone is sent, and we check on you by text until help arrives. That's our Stay-With-You Promise. You can also track your truck on a map once your driver is on the way.

Stuck right now? Call 1-888-TOW-1213, or request help online.

Mardi Gras Parade Route Questions

Rules change, so check the official source before you rely on it. Sources: NOLA Ready Mardi Gras parking, NOFD parade route tips, City Mardi Gras safety plan, Find my towed vehicle, City towing rules, La. R.S. 32:141.