Birthday Parades are no problem: Moose Jaw Police Service

When you have a rapidly growing phenomena like the Moose Jaw Birthday Parade, there are going to be some questions as to whether or not things are on the up-andup when it comes to the legality of the whole thing. Traffic issues and noise concerns immediately come to mind, given the number of cars and occasional horn honk or revved engine.

But according to the Moose Jaw Police Service, not only are things being done properly and in a safe fashion, they’re fully behind the whole proposition.

“Of course, we support anything that puts a positive mood on the COVID-19 situation,” said Staff Sgt. Randy Jesse with the MJPS. “Some of the organizers have been in touch with the Moose Jaw Police Service when organizing their parades; they’ve been very respectful of the public health order and obeying the rules of the road. “So we support anything that would bring a bit of sunshine into people’s lives in these tough times.” Head organizer Jody Chell has regularly made adjustments to the parades in order to make things safer and more manageable, with one of the largest changes from the first parade at the end of March being the creation of two routes in order to shorten the length of the event. That immediately led to less traffic and a more comfortable experience for both the parade’s drivers and recipients.

When it comes to the number of cars and the traffic the parades create – the second edition had close to 80 cars involved – as long as regular driving laws are followed and nothing untoward takes place it’s all fine and dandy. “I can’t say we’ve received many calls, a couple that are curious as to what’s going on, but when we assure them that we know about them and that they’re following the rules of road and obeying the law, they’re pretty happy with it,” Jesse said.

Then, of course, there’s the noise.

The first parade was a cacophony of joyous horn honks and loud engines that ran a little too long for some folks, leading to people voicing their concerns online and even an occasional call to police. That, too, was quickly cut back once it was realized as a problem and the MJPS have heard little since.

“We encourage them not to honk their horns, we don’t really think it’s necessary,” Jesse said. “People have complained about the unnecessary noise, and in talking with the organizers we’ve asked them to try not to honk at all. The cars are dressed up very pretty and they have their signage and stuff, that’s probably sufficient.

But when people get together in a group, and especially for birthdays, it’s a celebration and people get a bit excited,” he added. “There might be some people who object, but overall public perception is positive for these things.” For more information on the Moose Jaw Birthday Parade, check out their Facebook page.