Tampa trolley route for Children’s Gasparilla Parade has changed this year

TAMPA — For Saturday’s Children’s Gasparilla Parade, the route for the Jolley Roger Trolley has changed.

Street parking is usually hard to find, so a popular alternative is to park in the city’s Fort Brooke or Whiting Street garages. It’s then a short walk to catch a ride on the continuous trolley running to and from the parade route.

Pickup and dropoff will be on Platt Street, near the Publix on Bayshore Boulevard. The trolley runs from Platt Street to the Selmon Expressway and heads to the parade’s start at Bay to Bay Boulevard.

The route was modified to accommodate and pick up the largest number of people from the downtown parking areas. This pickup spot was previously serving as the busiest, a parade spokeswoman said, getting them to the parade route as quickly as possible using the Selmon Expressway.

The trolley will run from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday and is free.

City garages charge $5 to $15 per vehicle on parade day. Prepaid parking is highly recommended. Go to tampa.pmreserve.com to purchase your parade parking and guarantee a parking space downtown.