N.Y. Steps Up Safety for Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade

After accident, Macy’s tightens parade rules
Received by Newsfinder from AP
Nov 4, 2006 10:06 Eastern Time
A year after two sisters were hit by debris from a lamppost, organizers of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade are tightening rules to try to make the annual spectacle safer.

A panel on parade safety appointed by Mayor Michael Bloomberg released its findings last Friday, recommending that the giant balloons be more restricted as they move through city streets.

Parade organizers will now have to submit a route map to the city for approval, measuring and marking street lights, bus stop shelters and other possible obstructions.

The panel also suggested better testing of wind speeds along the parade route by taking readings at various intersections during the parade.

And city officials plan to keep as many as 2 million spectators farther from the curb.

The department store also is requiring more training for people who handle the balloons.

Last year, two sisters from Albany were standing on Broadway in Times Square when ropes from the “M&M’s Chocolate Candies” balloon got caught on a street light. The two were hit by pieces of the light and suffered cuts and bruises.

This year, Macy’s is paying for the Albany family to stay in a Manhattan hotel and giving them special seats in the grandstand opposite the flagship store in Herald Square.