April 06, 2016
The Wildcats will celebrate their NCAA Men's Basketball Championship in Center City on Friday. The team is slated for an afternoon parade down Market Street.
From the parade route: Nova fans set to cheer Wildcats
Sour grapes: UNC fan petitions to overturn Villanova title win
For those wishing to attend, commuters impacted by the volume of fans, or people wanting to watch it from home or at work, here's what you need to know:
Friday, April 8
1 p.m.
Begins: 20th and Market streets
Ends: Dilworth Park (1 S. 15th St.)
Partly sunny and breezy, with temperatures low 50s by parade time. Here's the forecast from the National Weather Service:
Friday: Partly sunny, with a high near 51. West wind 13 to 17 mph.
CBS3 confirmed they'll be live streaming the parade on their website and airing it on TV. NBC10 said they'll be streaming it on their website and on their news app. 6ABC will stream it on their website, air it live on TV and also stream it on their Facebook page via the new Facebook Live feature. Fox29 will broadcast the parade and stream it live on Fox29.com. Finally, TCN and CSNPhilly.com will have live coverage of the parade beginning at 1 p.m., with replays of the event at 7:30 p.m. and again on Saturday at noon.
Villanova cancels classes on Friday!! Who is ready for a parade? @FOX29philly @NovaMBB pic.twitter.com/TCu0qI6U9V
— Bob Kelly (@bobkellytraffic) April 6, 2016
Starting at 11 a.m., Market Street between 23rd and 15th streets and 15th Street between JFK Boulevard and Chestnut Street will be closed off, 6ABC reports. Motorists are encouraged to avoid the area in general if they can. For more information on how traffic will be diverted, you can go to 6ABC here.
SEPTA will increase capacity on several lines to accommodate fans coming into Center City from the suburbs or outlying neighborhoods. Some bus routes along Market Street will be affected. Details:
• Buses: Several bus routes that travel through Center City on Market Street will be detoured between 10:30 a.m. and 6 p.m. because of the parade. If you take any of the following routes during that time period, you'll want to check SEPTA's system status alerts to find out how your service will be impacted: 2, 4, 7, 16, 17, 27, 31, 32, 33, 38, 44, 48, 62, 124/125.
• Subway: Both the Market-Frankford and Broad Street lines will have added trains during the parade. While the City Hall Station is slated to be open, it may be closed if things get too crowded. If that happens, passengers should get on/off at the 13th Street Station (for the Market-Frankford Line) or the Walnut-Locust Station (for the Broad Street line).
• Norristown High-Speed Line: You can take this line to 69th Street Transportation Center and then take the Market-Frankford Line into Center City. SEPTA is warning that service may be swamped after the parade at the stops near Villanova's campus, such as Radnor, Stadium and Villanova. The temporary opposite-side boarding on the line will also be canceled for Friday, with all trains boarding at their regularly scheduled locations. Map can be seen here.
• Regional Rail: The Paoli-Thorndale Line will run on a normal schedule. Passengers will wait on the concourse, not the platform, for their trains. Schedule can be seen here.
• Trolleys: If you take the following trolley routes, you should regularly check system statuses for updates on possible closures or delays: 10, 11, 13, 34, and 36. Those routes travel from Darby and West Philly into Center City. Routes 101 and 102 can be taken from Springfield, Clifton Heights and Upper Darby to the 69th Street Transportation Center.
• Deals: Convenience passes: For $8 you receive eight rides in one day on all SEPTA services except Regional Rail. They'll be sold at the following Norristown High-Speed Line stations from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Friday: Norristown Transportation Center, Gulph Mills, Radnor, Villanova, Stadium, and Bryn Mawr. Independence Passes: $12 for one person, $29 for a family of five. It gets you unlimited access to SEPTA services, including Regional Rail, for one day. They'll be sold at the following Regional Rail stops from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. Thursday and starting at 9 a.m. Friday: Radnor, Villanova, Bryn Mawr, Ardmore (only Thursday), and Overbrook. One difference for Friday: Independence passes are good all day, not just starting at 9 a.m.
Yes. They absolutely did. Get your "Jenkins Juice" signs ready for Friday, people.
