The City of Raleigh has announced that it will not allow a special event permit application for the 2023 Christmas Parade.
The city stated in their announcement, “The choice was made due to an excess of vigilance for parade participants and onlookers, as well as consideration for Hailey Brooks’ loved ones and acquaintances.”
The event has been organized for a long time by the Greater Raleigh Merchants Association.
Expressed Jennifer Martin, the Executive Director of the group, “Hearing it was challenging, it was exceedingly challenging. Moreover, I believe it is an immense letdown for both this town and its community. We hold deep affection for this procession and the community it represents, and our genuine desire was to foster unity among our community, reconnect individuals, and devise a means to pay tribute to this year.”
Martin stated that the team has been focusing on enhancing safety measures and has employed a safety advisor.
In their case, Glass was employed by the dance organization to operate a vehicle a parade vehicle. She was struck and fatally injured by a pickup truck operated by 20-year-old Landen Glass while performing with her dance group from CC & Co. Dance Complex in 2022.
Miller expressed his disappointment, through a statement, that the city decided to cancel the parade instead of embracing a fresh set of safety precautions, according to the Brooks family lawyer, Jason.
The statement continues to assert:
The City should refrain from canceling the parade and instead, it is crucial for the City to pay tribute to Hailey by implementing safeguards for the well-being of this community. It has been 10 months since the tragic death of Hailey Brooks, and if approached, the Brooks family would have encouraged the City to move forward with the Parade while incorporating fundamental, logical safety measures that should have already been established in 2022, similar to the ones suggested in the Shine Like Hailey Parade Safety Act. The City did not make contact with the family prior to finalizing this decision.
The Shine Like Hailey Parade Safety Act, also known as House Bill 633, was introduced earlier this year with the aim of implementing a fresh set of safety standards in cities across the state that have populations exceeding 35,000. In light of their daughter’s tragic passing, Brooks’ parents have been advocating for stricter safety measures.
Under the bill, any automobile participating in a parade must undergo safety inspection and verification of registration and insurance within a week prior to the parade date.
The CBS news asked the Assistant City Manager what role the pending legislation is playing in the Senate committee’s decision on the parade.
“We will state that we would need to offer assistance for these processions,” Raleigh stated. “Even less significant in relation to the amount of supervision, legislation would have quite substantial effects for cities of our magnitude. It definitely influenced our discussion.”
He stated that the city also talked about ongoing legal cases.
Raleigh said, “There was definitely a sense of awareness, but I wouldn’t necessarily say there was fear.” “We thought that the risks at this particular point were outweighed by other considerations, so we decided to move forward,” he added.
Mayor Mary-Ann Baldwin of Raleigh expressed in a statement to CBS 17.
This decision was difficult for many reasons. However, we felt that it was the best decision for our community. We hope to continue the wonderful tradition of celebrating upcoming holidays and working with our partners to ensure that we have appropriate precautions and rules in place for the events in 2024. We also wanted to show respect for Hailey Brooks, who tragically lost her life last year and for whom there are pending lawsuits and state legislation regarding parades.
The GRMA association said they had already begun promoting this year’s parade, which would not be issued a permit if they were not accepting applications for participants. In an update on August 18, the organizers said they were implementing additional requirements for those participating in the parade this year, including an Insurance Certificate for all participants.
The procession became virtual in 2020. However, it has otherwise proceeded every year; during World War II, the procession took a brief hiatus, as stated by GRMA. The year 2023 would have marked the 79th anniversary of the procession.
The city said that several departments are working with partners on a variety of activities and events, in which small businesses are also looking for ways to participate. Everyone can enjoy those activities and events.
Raleigh authorities expressed their anticipation in providing further details about these prospects in the upcoming weeks.