When getting ready to head out Thursday to celebrate the nation’s independence, it might be a good idea to know about traffic and places to park.
York County
In York County, there will be large crowds to watch the fireworks during the evening. As a result, there will be several temporary traffic changes in Historic Yorktown all day and specific changes for the evening.
Beginning at 4 p.m., there will be no parking permitted in Historic Yorktown unless the visitor has an official pass, is a Yorktown Village resident, or a business owner.
Visitors planning on attending the evening events will be restricted to park on the Yorktown Battlefield at the corner of Cook Road and Ballard Street. This parking can be accessed by Cook Road or the Colonial Parkway.
However, the battlefield will only remain open to the public until it reaches capacity.
Throughout the day, though the following roads will be closed:
- Zweybrucken Road
- Comte de Grasse Street
- Main Street, from Zweybrucken to Ballard Street
- Beach Picnic Area at the corner of Water and Comte de Grasse streets
The following will be restricted to resident access only:
- Church Street
- Nelson Street
- Smith Street
- Bacon Street
There will also be handicapped parking and special assistance available to those who need it. From 4 to 7 p.m., there will be transportation provided for visitors with disabilities and special needs, as well as one designated escort. All other visitors in a party must take a separate vehicle to park at the battlefield.
Passengers will be issued passes for the ride that must be returned on the shuttle at the end of the evening. The drop-off location will be at the waterfront, approximately 200 yards from the performance area.
To receive transportation to the waterfront, visitors must be on site and checked in by 7 p.m. The shuttle will make returns from the waterfront to Yorktown Middle School from 9:45 to 10:30 p.m.
Williamsburg
In Williamsburg, there will be Fourth of July celebrations downtown throughout the day culminating with a fireworks show in Colonial Williamsburg in the evening.
“The July 4th celebration is one of the biggest events we have in the colonial area,” said Charles Ericsson, spokesman for the Williamsburg Police Department. “We expect the crowds to be around 20,000 people.”
The fireworks show will begin at 9:30 p.m., but with the large turnout expected, Ericsson said getting to the area as early as possible to find parking is best.
There will be a shuttle service that will run before and after the show, but not during.
Starting at 8:45 p.m. on Thursday, police will close streets between North Henry, Francis and Prince George streets to allow pedestrians to walk safely from Duke of Gloucester Street.
These streets will remain closed as visitors return to their vehicles after the show.
“The biggest difficulty with a crowd that size is everyone wants to beat the traffic and get out quick, this usually leads to frustrated drivers who will inevitably have to wait in traffic,” Ericsson said.
There is not a set time for when the roads reopen, but they will be accessible by vehicle once all pedestrian traffic has cleared for the night. Ericsson said that usually takes about an hour and a half after the fireworks show.
“We just ask that people remain patient when leaving, we are working as hard as we can to get traffic moving along as soon as we can,” Ericsson said.
For more information on parking, visit Colonial Williamsburg online.
