Mardi Gras parade routes to be altered

NEW ORLEANS -- Although bigger Carnival crowds are expected for 2007, police will still alter traditional parade routes for a second year to avoid blighted neighborhoods and beef up security, the police chief says.

But the Mardi Gras celebration will have more parades this year, 31 over 10 days, compared with 28 parades in eight days last year, Police Superintendent Warren Riley told The Times-Picayune.

Parades will start on Feb. 9, 12 days before Fat Tuesday. No parades will be held on Monday and Tuesday after the first weekend.

Modifications have been made to traditional routes and start times so police can ensure the best protection for parades and revelers, Riley said. Last year's Carnival crowds were about 70 percent of those in normal circumstances, and next year's crowds should be even larger, he said.

Instead of the traditional, often simultaneous two parade routes in Mid-City and Uptown, the 2007 Carnival schedule takes East Bank krewes strictly through Uptown, avoiding the Mid-City route.

Meanwhile, New Orleans is still trying to put its cruise industry back on track. Before Katrina, New Orleans was on pace to become the fifth-largest cruise port in the country.