St. Patrick’s Day in Boston: When does the parade start, are streets shut down, do bars close early?

BOSTON — St. Patrick’s Day is officially upon us and thousands of revelers across Boston will celebrate the holiday weekend, culminating with the annual parade in Southie on Sunday.

Parking meters across Boston will be free of charge Friday in honor of Evacuation Day, but Sunday will bring an array of parking restrictions and street closures.

Southie parade details

For the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic hit, the parade will once again be held along its “historical” route: West Broadway to East Broadway to P Street to East Fourth Street to K Street to East Fifth Street to G Street to Thomas Park (southerly arm) to Telegraph Street to Dorchester Street ending at Dorchester Avenue.

The parade is slated to begin at 1 p.m. but the Boston Police Department warned ticketing and towing could begin as early as 5 a.m.

Parade parking restrictions that will be in place

• Dorchester Avenue, Both sides, from Gillette Park to Old Colony Avenue
  
• Both sides, from Dorchester Street to Damrell Street
  
• Foundry Street, Both sides, from Greenbaum Street to Dorchester Avenue
  
• West Second Street, Both sides, from Dorchester Avenue to A Street
  
• A Street, Both sides, from Binford Street to West Second Street
  
• Binford Street, Both sides, from A Street heading northwesterly to end at 45 Binford Street
  
• West Fourth Street, Both sides, from A Street to Dorchester Avenue
  
• West Broadway, Both sides, from Dorchester Avenue to Dorchester Street
  
• East Broadway, Both sides, from Dorchester Street to P Street
  
• P Street, Both sides, from East Broadway to East Fourth Street
  
• East Fourth Street, Both sides, from P Street to K Street
  
• K Street, Both sides, from East Fourth Street to East Fifth Street
  
• East Fifth Street, Both sides, from K Street to G Street
  
• G Street, Both sides, from East Fifth Street to #96 G Street
  
• Thomas Park, Both sides of southerly arm (opposite normal traffic flow), from G Street to Telegraph Street
  
• Telegraph Street, Both sides, from Thomas Park to Dorchester Street
  
• Dorchester Street, Both sides, from Telegraph Street to Dorchester Avenue
  
• E Street at West Broadway Street on the West Third Street side
  
• L Street at East Broadway on the East Third Street side.
  
• Old Colony Avenue at Dorchester Street on the inbound side

Southie road race details

The Saint Patrick’s Day Road Race is on tap for 11 a.m. It begins on West Sixth Street Girls Club. All cars will need to be removed from area streets before 9 a.m.

The route of the race is: West Sixth Street left onto Dorchester Street, right onto East Broadway, down and around the Farragut Statue at Day Boulevard, to East Broadway, right onto West Broadway, left onto E Street, left onto West Sixth Street ending at #230 West Sixth – Boys & Girls Club

Road race parking restrictions

• West Sixth Street, Both sides, from F Street to Dorchester Street
  
• F Street, Southeast side (odd side – Boys & Girls Club side), West Sixth Street to Bowen Street

When do package stores and bars close on Sunday?

The city says liquor stores will close their doors for business at 4 p.m.

Bars will stop allowing people inside come 6:30 p.m.

Drinks will not be served after 7 p.m.

Public drinking and spiked drink warnings

Boston police warned that public and underage drinking will not be tolerated. Officers will be deployed along the route to monitor for violators.

Police also urged the public to be on the lookout for dangerous drugs that may be dropped into drinks.

Local college students were also told to refrain from partaking in “BORG,” a popular binge-drinking trend that has resulted in a slew of medical emergencies in recent months.

Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts.

Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW

©2023 Cox Media Group