On Thursday, families across the country will maybe stop arguing politics for a few hours to watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, which starts at 9 a.m. at 77th Street and Central Park West and heads down Sixth Avenue into Herald Square. If you plan on driving to the parade—or anywhere in its vicinity—Thursday morning, you should avoid a huge chunk of the Upper West Side and Midtown West due to street closures (and, of course, congestion on the streets that stay open).
More specifically, here are the streets that will be closed from 9 a.m. to noon for the parade's formation, route, and dispersal:
Formation:
- Columbus Avenue between 81st Street and 77th Street
- Central Park West between 81st Street and 86th Street
- 77th Street between Central Park West and Columbus Avenue
- 76h Street between Central Park West and Columbus Avenue
- 71st Street between Central Park West and Columbus Avenue
- 68th Street between Central Park West and Columbus Avenue
- 62nd Street between Central Park West and Columbus Avenue
The parade route:
- Central Park West between 81st Street and the east side of Columbus Circle/59th Street
- Broadway between 59th Street and 58th Street
- 59th Street between Columbus Circle and 5th Avenue
- 6th Avenue between 59th Street and 34th Street
- 34th Street between 59th Street and 34th Street
- 34th Street between 6th Avenue and 7th Avenue
Dispersal
- 33rd Street between 6th Avenue and 10th Avenue
- 34th Street between 7th Avenue and 8th Avenue
- 34th Street between 5th Avenue and 6th Avenue
- 35th Street between 6th Avenue and 8th Avenue
- 36th Street between Broadway and 8th Avenue
- 37th Street between Broadway and 8th Avenue
- 38th Street between Broadway and 8th Avenue
- 39th Street between 7th Avenue and 8th Avenue
- 40th Street between 7th Avenue and 8th Avenue
- 7th Avenue between 33rd Street and 40th Street
And don't worry about the vague ISIS threat that called the parade an "excellent target"—the NYPD is ready for any possible attack.
