A portion of the Carbon County St. Patrick's Day parade route in Jim Thorpe will be free of parked cars following action by borough council on Thursday night.

Council voted unanimously to ban parking from Immaculate Conception Church on West Broadway to the Carbon County Court- house during Sunday's parade, calling it a safety issue.Parking was banned last year due to excessive snow and Jim Thorpe Mayor Michael Sofranko said the move drew positive response from residents and parade attendees."I went up and down Broadway recently and met with residents to get their take on it," Sofranko said. "A lot of people liked the parking ban because they could sit on the opposite side of the street in the sun and we didn't have to worry about children running out in front of cars or crawling on parked cars to see."Sunday's parade starts at 1 p.m. and while it's a day to wear green, one West Broadway resident was seeing red after council's decision on Thursday.Former Jim Thorpe Police Chief Barry Andrew said the ban isn't fair, as those residents beyond Immaculate Conception Church don't have to move their vehicles."This is nonsense," Andrew said. "The same people suffer all the time so the rest of the drunken bums can have their picnic. That's really what it is. You cater to the drunks. We've never had an issue with the parked cars in the past."Things change, Sofranko said, and the parade has grown to the point where it is an issue now.Solicitor James Nanovic said as mayor, Sofranko had the ability to ban parking as a safety regulation without going through council."I really wanted to get their backing," Sofranko added.Council said the ban would be in place for every St. Patrick's Day parade going forward."I don't know of a single community that allows vehicles to be parked along a parade route," Sofranko said.Resident Andrew Roberts applauded the move, describing last year's parade as "one of the best ever" because of the lack of parked vehicles.Sofranko said parking will be available in the Carbon County parking lot, behind the train station and shuttles will be run from Jim Thorpe High School. The marked shuttle buses also stop at the intersections of 9th and North Streets and 6th and North streets. Shuttle service is running every half-hour from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.The parade, sponsored by the Ancient Order of Hibernians Alec Campbell Division 1 of Carbon County and the Ladies Ancient Order of Hibernians Mollie Maguire Division 1 of Carbon County, annually draws thousands to downtown Jim Thorpe.