Coronado’s Fourth of July Preparations Underway

Coronado’s Fourth of July celebration is one of the biggest and best in San Diego County -- a day filled with activities for the entire family. As the City readies for the festivities, including a popular parade and a fireworks show, it wants the community to be prepared.

With the Fourth of July holiday falling on a Friday, traffic is sure to be an issue citywide. Visitors are advised to arrive early to find the best parking particularly for the parade, which begins at 10 a.m. Click here to see the parade line-up. Locals are asked to take alternative transportation, such as the Free Summer Shuttle and bicycles.

Big crowds are expected throughout the day and into the evening. Activities include: a 15K Run and 5K Run-Walk; a rough-water swim; and, at Spreckels Park, a community concert, photos with San Diego Star Wars Society, and Art in the Park. Click here for a full list of events. In addition to letting the public know about the Fourth of July line-up, City officials also are working to get the word out about parking restrictions, road closures and safety zones.

The Coronado Police Department will create a safety zone within a one-block radius of the Orange Avenue parade route to ensure event security and to provide a safe area for emergency vehicles. Signs will be posted in advance, notifying people of the upcoming closure. Barricades will be erected and more signs will be posted three days before the parade. Please note that vehicles parked in the safety zone once the barricades are up will be cited and towed.

Things to keep in mind this Fourth of July holiday:

POLICE: Officers will be strictly enforcing bans on alcohol and smoking on public streets, in City parks and on the beach. Bans also are in effect for tents and overnight camping, fireworks and unleashed dogs.

TRAFFIC: Orange Avenue will be shut down in both directions during the parade from First Street to RH Dana Place, beginning at 9 a.m. and lasting until about 1 p.m. Additionally, streets around the parade staging area – bounded by First Street to the north, Orange Avenue to the east, Third Street to the south and Palm Avenue to the west – will be closed to through traffic.

SHUTTLE BUS: Coronado’s Free Summer Shuttle service as well as the regular Metropolitan Transit System’s 901 bus, which will have additional service provided every 15 minutes from 7:30 a.m. to 10 p.m., will run an alternate route during the parade. Visitors and residents are encouraged to take the Free Summer Shuttle Bus to get around town over the busy Fourth of July weekend.

PARKING: In addition to the restrictions in the parade safety zone, other parking restrictions will be in place on July 4. Parking is permitted along the northbound and southbound lanes of State Route 75/Silver Strand Boulevard north of Naval Amphibious Base Coronado, where it is normally allowed.  However, no vehicles at any time may park along the medians of State Route 75 from Pomona Avenue to Tulagi Road, or along the southbound or northbound shoulders of State Route 75 south of Naval Amphibious Base Coronado, where parking is always prohibited.

RV PARKING: The RV staging area for entering the Silver Strand State Beach is north of the Coronado Cays guard shack along the western curb of Coronado Cays Boulevard. In the Village area, RV parking will be temporarily permitted Thursday along Glorietta Boulevard and along State Route 75 on the City Hall or east side. However, no overnight sleeping or awnings and pop-outs are allowed. Contact the Police Department at(619) 522-7350 to obtain an oversize vehicle permit if you are planning to park an RV in the City for the entire Fourth of July weekend.

PARADE: No one may stake out a viewing spot in the City’s medians to watch the parade until 5 a.m. on Thursday, July 4. Any items placed in the medians to reserve spots before 5 a.m. will be removed and stored by Public Services. Any items removed and taken to Public Services may not be retrieved untilMonday, July 7.

BOAT RAMP: The Glorietta Bay Boat Ramp will be closed during the 15K Run and 5K Run-Walk, which begins at 7 a.m., and again during the fireworks display, which starts at approximately 9 p.m.

FIREWORKS: A fireworks show will be discharged from a barge in Glorietta Bay at 9 p.m.  The show will be broadcast live on radio station KYXY 96.5 FM.  The show will last approximately 16 minutes. The Port of San Diego’s Big Bay Boom fireworks show will be discharged simultaneously from barges placed around San Diego Bay, and at the Imperial Beach Pier. Those shows will be broadcast live on the radio on 105.7 FM.  No stopping or parking is permitted at any time on the San Diego-Coronado Bridge, a state highway, to view the fireworks show. For those unfamiliar with Coronado’s Fourth of July celebration, you should expect delays of at least one hour when exiting the City via the San Diego-Coronado Bridge or State Route 75 after the fireworks display. 

FIRES: The City’s beach fires ordinance has been recently updated, limiting fire materials to clean wood, meaning no wood with varnish, paint or hardware, including nails. Fire materials may be no higher than 12 inches above the upper edge of the fire ring. Fires also must be contained inside the fire ring. The City’s fire rings, which are often staked out early, are located at North Beach.  

Parents of lost children should contact a Police Officer, security staff or call 911. For non-life-threatening emergencies, Police Dispatchers can be reached at (619) 522-7350.

Public Services crews will be out cleaning up at the different events but City officials ask that people leave the City as clean as they found it. To reach Public Service crews to report overflowing trash bins, damaged barricades or broken tree limbs, call (619) 522-7380.

Have a safe Fourth of July holiday and please don’t drink and drive.

—City of Coronado