Some downtown Kitchener streets to reopen in time for Oktoberfest parade

The streets of downtown Kitchener will have enough space to accommodate floats, marching bands and even a beer-barrelpolka as detours are lifted and some spots are resurfaced for the annual Thanksgiving Day Oktoberfest Parade.

LRT construction shut down a number of routes throughout the summerbut some of thosestreets are now reopening, including Francis to Victoria Street and Victoria Street from Charles Street to Weber Street.

Those intersections will open completely while temporary workwill be required for the King and Frederick intersection in downtown Kitchener.

Lauren McGirr with GrandLinq says the section of King and Frederickwhich is currently closed, will be resurfaced especially for the event.

"It'll be a hard compacted granular surface so the horses and the bands and everything can walk over," McGirr said.

The parade route is the same as last year from Kitchener to Waterloo. It starts at King and Cedar,turns right on Victoria, left onto Weber and ends at Bridgeport Road.

Change makes everybody nervous

Oktoberfest organizers were worried about how the new route last year would be accepted by the community who were so used to watching the parade along King Street from Waterloo to Kitchener.

"We were worried about changing our parade route because change always can give reasons for people not to show up or alter their normal habits," said Dave MacNeil, the executive director of K-W Oktoberfest. " But what we found is the community really embraced it."

MacNeil indicates that route may change back once the construction on the LRT is completed. He says the organizers have started a discussion with the region and cities about the future parade route.

"The current route is one possibility," MacNeil said." Another strong possibility is right down Weber Street. So that when the LRT is complete we can use it to deliver people to the parade."

The Kitchener-Waterloo Oktoberfest Thanksgiving Day Paradestarts at 8:30 a.m. on Monday, October 10.