01-06-2025
Portland Rose Festival enhances security measures for Starlight Parade
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Roads are already closed off in downtown Portland as tens of thousands of Rose Festival fans gather for the annual Starlight Parade on Saturday night.
In past years, Portland has had some security issues at other parades. Now there is a lot of attention on how to keep the crowds safe.
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Since more than 100,000 people are estimated to attend the parade this year, anti-vehicle barricades are set up for the first time to prevent cars from plowing into the crowd.
'If a vehicle were to engage with it, it lifts the front of the vehicle,' said Steven Bledsoe, a senior event strategist for the Portland Rose Festival Foundation. 'They're strung along. And then if it's a larger vehicle, it wraps around the vehicle to stop it and it stops it rather rapidly.'
For years, the Rose Festival used dump trucks to block roads. But back in 2023, a man drove around some of the dump trucks and onto the parade route, almost hitting the crowd.
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Now, the festival is no longer using dump trucks, with organizers saying the decision was in response to budget cuts.
Parade-goer Erin Smith from Vancouver told KOIN 6 News, said she's not had any safety concerns at the events.
'From my experience, whoever comes down here just wants to watch the parade,' said Smith. 'So we've not experienced any issues. And I don't expect there to be any this year either.'
There will be hundreds of police officers from several different agencies in uniform and plain clothes throughout the parade and along the viewing areas.
But officials add that you can take it one step further by bringing a flashlight for when you want to get around, especially when the festivities wrap up.
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