What to know before Philly’s Villanova parade

Make that not one, but two major victories in the Philly sports scene this year.

The Villanova Wildcats beat the Michigan Wolverines by 79-62 Monday night, securing their third NCAA championship and marking the second major victory for Philly sports fans after the Eagles claimed the title of Super Bowl champions earlier this year.

And, just like with the Eagles’ win two months ago, the city plans to celebrate.

The revelry will kick off Thursday morning with a parade starting at 11 a.m. on 20th and Market streets. Those participating in the parade will line up at 9:30 a.m., according to a statement from the city.

The parade will then move to South Penn Square on the west side of Broad Street. It will be followed by a rally in Dilworth Park until 12:30 p.m. Here’s what you need to know about road closures, parking restrictions and transportation changes Thursday.

Some Center City roads will be closed

Starting at 9:30 a.m., drivers should expect to avoid sections of Market Street, which will be closed from The Schuylkill Expressway entry ramp, to 20th Street until noon. Another section of Market Street from 16th to 19th streets will be closed from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. Finally, the 1500 block of Market Street will be closed from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m., according to the city’s statement.

In addition to Market Street—the main route of the parade—drivers can also expect to see streets off of Market closed, starting at 10 a.m. and lasting until 1 p.m. Those include 16th, 17th, 18th, 19th and 20th streets from JFK Boulevard to Chestnut Street.

The city has also announced the closure of 15th Street from Race to Chestnut and South Penn Square from 15th Street to Broad Street.

There will be restricted parking near the parade

The city has announced several streets around the parade area, which will be closed to parking starting at 6 a.m. and lasting until 4 p.m. During those times, parking will be prohibited on both sides of JFK Boulevard from 15th to 17th Streets, both sides of Market Street from 15th Street to the expressway and both sides of 15th street from Chestnut to Arch streets.

Additionally, the city has announced that parking will be banned on the south sides of 1400 JFK Boulevard and South Penn Square from 15th to Broad streets.

SEPTA is accounting for more people

Villanova may be a team that’s near and dear to Philadelphians’ hearts but it’s still based in the suburbs, and that means they’ve got a large fanbase outside the city, too.

SEPTA has accounted for that, though. They announced in a statement this week that they’ve added extra capacity to their Norristown High Speed Line (NHSL), which carries fans from relevant stops like Radnor and Villanova stations. They also urged fans outside the city to consider taking the Paoli/Thorndale—which also stops at Radnor and Villanova—into the city.

In Philly itself, SEPTA announced this week that they added extra capacity for their Market Frankford (MFL) and Broad Street (BSL) lines, to account for an influx of people to the city. They noted that the City Hall station for both lines will remain open for now, but that if it becomes too overcrowded, both subway lines will bypass the stop.

SEPTA also announced this week that the bus routes running around City Hall will be detoured from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday. Those routes include 2, 4, 7, 16, 17, 27, 31, 32, 33, 38, 34, 48, 62, 124 and 125. Anyone using trolley routes 10, 11, 13, 34 and 36 should make sure to check for cancellations or closures on the transportation system’s website, Septa.org.

As a final note, SEPTA is urging people who are taking transportation in and out of the city, to purchase their tickets in advance.

• Philly is the first city to win a Superbowl and NCAA championship in one year [SB Nation]
• The Eagles parade in photos [Curbed Philly]
• Villanova Parade [Septa.org]