The island of Manhattan will turn green like the Emerald Isle on Monday, March 17, for the 264th annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade in NYC.
While the parade is a time for fun, celebrations, and all things Irish, getting to the festivities safely is paramount. Public transportation agencies are advising the hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers heading to the big celebration to take advantage of extra service being offered to get there and follow important rules on the day of the parade.
Here’s what you need to know about attending the St. Patrick’s Day Parade in NYC
The parade steps off at 11 a.m. on Monday. It takes place on 5th Avenue from 44th to 79th Streets, attracting thousands of spectators who will watch an array of participants march forward, including musicians, bands, dancers and more.
Getting there
The easiest way to get to the parade is by subway.
Take the Lexington Avenue 4/5/6 line, which covers the full parade route. Each station is a short walk over to 5th Avenue. To reach the avenue directly, take the subway to the 5th Avenue/53 Street E/M station. Commuters can also take the N/ R/W to Lexington Avenue-59th Street or the B/D/F/M to 42nd Street-Bryant Park or 47-50 Streets-Rockefeller Center.
Paradegoers should note that the stairs to the N/R/W 5th Avenue-59th Street station at the southeast corner of Fifth Avenue and 60th Street will be closed during the parade. During that same time, certain stairs at the 77 Street 6 subway station will be ‘enter only’ and others will be ‘exit only.’
Traffic detours
Throughout the parade, which ends at approximately 4:30 p.m., street traffic will be detoured away from 5th Avenue between 44th and 79th Streets. The detours will likely cause traffic to overflow into nearby streets. Driving to the parade is not recommended.
Due to the parade route, some NYC buses will have their routes impacted.
Commuters should expect reroutes on the following bus routes: M1, M2, M3, M4, M5, M31, M50, M55, M57, M66, M72, M79 SBS, Q32, and most express buses.
Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) and Metro-North Railroad to add extra trains to the parade
Grand Central Madison leaves LIRR riders close to the parade at the East Side LIRR hub, a short walk from the parade’s starting point.
Multiple travel options will be available to get commuters to the parade. The LIRR will add two extra westbound trains on the Babylon Branch and two extra trains on the Ronkonkoma Branch, all of which are stopping at Grand Central Madison.
Metro-North will operate extra service to Grand Central Terminal on both the East of Hudson and West of Hudson Lines on St. Patrick’s Day.
On the East of Hudson lines – the Hudson, Harlem and New Haven lines – Metro-North will have five extra trains available to transport commuters to and from the festivities in Manhattan.
On the West of Hudson lines – the Pascack Valley and Port Jervis lines – Metro-North will operate one extra train on each line to transport parade-goers to Manhattan.
In the afternoon, Metro-North will monitor the return of parade-goers and will operate extra trains as necessary.
Alcohol banned on commuter railways
Both Metro-North Railroad and LIRR will ban alcohol on all trains and at stations from 5 a.m. on Monday, March 17, to 5 a.m. on Tuesday, March 18.
Alcohol consumption and open alcoholic containers are always banned in the subway system.
For more information, visit mta.info.
