LAKELAND, Fla. — This year’s traditional Christmas parade through downtown Lakeland is taking a detour due to a major road project.
But that new route will move the parade, and potentially tens of thousands of spectators, around the edges of the city’s Lake Morton.
Now a Change.org petition has garnered several hundred signatures asking the city to reconsider that detour out of concern for Lakeland‘s iconic swans and the impact the parade could have on them.
Sally Bendele and her partner Syd Milton are behind the ask.
“I was really hoping for a reconsideration of the parade route,” Bendel said. “They can’t speak up for themselves. So, I feel like it should be our job to speak up for them. And say what’s right.”
Bendele says she's concerned about all sorts of potential problems including noise, crowds, and especially trash left over by the thousands of people who could line the parade route around the lake.
“I would just hope that they would kind of see my point a little better,” she said.
“I can assure you,” said city spokesman Kevin Cook, “that the health of the swans is our number one priority as well.”
Cook says they consulted with the swans' caretakers and veterinarians, who concluded an hour of a parade around Lake Morton would have no more impact than the city's annual Mayfaire celebration or other events along the lake.
Cook says during other outdoor events, fireworks displays and even major storms the swans will often congregate toward the center of Lake Morton away from people and debris.
Once the coast is clear, they say the birds will make their way back toward the shoreline.
It’s a one-time route change, says Cook, to accommodate a road construction project along the traditional route which usually takes the parade to Lake Mirror.
To mitigate the concerns, the city is also planning to put up barriers along the grassy side of Lake Morton and keep parade spectators on the sidewalk side of the roadway.
“It's a community event, and the community loves it,” Cook said. “So, at this point in time, the administration has made their mind out their decision. And we've met with traffic, we've met with other stakeholders, and this is the route for now.”
Bendele and Milton say it's frustrating the city seems to have already made up its mind.
But with hundreds of signatures and still several weeks to go before the parade they plan to attend city commission meetings, hoping to persuade them to reconsider.
“I’m definitely going to look over the map again and see if I can bring forth some options for a different route,” Bendele said. “And just maybe make a little bit of a change.”