Vigilante Parade route can remain as is, city manager says, but with a few tweaks

The route for Helena’s Vigilante Parade can remain as is, City Manager Tim Burton said Monday, putting to rest talks of making changes due to public safety concerns.

But it does come with a few caveats.

“The City’s public safety officials have been involved in positive discussions with Helena Public School District and have identified a path forward to keep the parade route as it has been, while implementing new safety measures to make the event as safe as possible,” Burton wrote in a memo to the mayor and city commissioners.

Social media outcry emerged March 8 when Helena resident Adam Clinch, who also is a teacher at Capital High School, announced the century-old Vigilante Parade may get a new route.

Specifically, the parade would be taken off the Last Chance Gulch Walking Mall, he reported, where high schoolers have marched for years.

The parade was started in May 1924 by Helena High Principal Albert J. Roberts to put an end to escalating and increasingly dangerous class rivalry stunts. The parade's 100th anniversary was last year.

The route remaining as is was welcome news for one Walking Mall business owner.

“I am very excited,” said Riley Tubbs, a co-owner of Ten Mile Creek Brewery. “It's an important day for our business to have this parade and many events in the downtown. I am happy to work together with the city to mitigate the risks of this event and other events.”

Burton said in his memo the primary concern from fire, police and transportation systems teams is that the city maintain emergency vehicle access to the Walking Mall during an event like the parade.

“The size of parade vehicles and space limitations on the Walking Mall make it incredibly challenging to drive a fire engine or other large emergency vehicles to respond to an incident in the middle of the Walking Mall,” he wrote.

He said city staff have worked with Helena Public Schools to implement the following public safety mitigation strategies for the parade:

• Limit vehicle and trailer size. Trucks larger than 1-ton pickups will not be allowed. Trailer deck length will be limited to 25 feet.
• Space vehicles on the Walking Mall. The city will provide staff to control the distance between vehicles as they enter the Walking Mall, to allow for more adequate space if an emergency response vehicle needs to enter the parade route.
• Intersection of 6th Avenue and Last Chance Gulch will be unobstructed. Crowd managers will ensure spectators don’t block the intersection.
• Barrier placement on the Walking Mall. Crowd managers will ensure barriers remain appropriately distanced apart throughout the Walking Mall.

The school district offered a statement of support Monday.

“We appreciate the time and effort that the City has put into identifying important new safety measures while maintaining the traditional Vigilante Parade route,” said Helena Public Schools spokesperson Karen Ogden. “We appreciated the opportunity to be part of this process and fully support the safety measures outlined in the City’s statement today. We’re looking forward to a safe, fun and successful Vigilante Parade.”

Burton’s original proposed solution at a March 10 City Commission meeting was three predetermined parade routes that city commissioners would vote on. During the application process, organizers would choose between the routes instead of drawing their own.

Presumably, the Vigilante Parade would veer off its Walking Mall course.

The city is still pursuing the preplanned parade routes, city spokesperson Jacob Garcin said.

However, he said it’s possible one of the routes would have access to the Walking Mall. On Friday, a Helena fire engine and several public safety officials visited the Walking Mall to verify a parade could march safely.

The city will continue the discussions that have been taking place for several years regarding improvements to the Special Event Permit process and event safety, Burton said.

These conversations include event organizers, the Downtown Business Improvement District (BID) and other key partners to ensure stakeholder representation, Burton said. As a result, the city has already developed a safety plan for events and crowd management training in partnership with the BID.

Burton said they are also interested in establishing training for traffic control.

“The City will continue to utilize our partnership with the BID and our various parade organizers to support each other’s efforts,” he said.