New Orleans City Council Passes Mardi Gras Rules Update!!

It’s a fairly mild piece of legislation. For example, all ladders, regardless of height, now must be 6 feet from the street. This uniformity makes it easier for the police to monitor.

If you throw beads back at krewe members you will be fined $250 now. Some issues haven’t been decided yet. The toilet paper throw is back on the table with a different emphasis. Now, the unwrapped rolls are a ‘sanitation’ issue. That is a bull crap claim. I don’t think the vast majority of parade goers who catch a roll of paper actually use it. If they do, it better be clean. If it fell in the dirt or the mud it becomes garbage. The roll in the picture below has an outer wrap, keeping it hygienic.

Roll of Tucks Bathroom Tissue- Wrapped!

If you place your private portable potty on public grounds, the company that rented you the unit will owe $250 to the City of New Orleans. That should cut down on the practice.

“Snap Pops” are now banned from Orleans Parish parade routes. The rationale here is the noise they create might scare horses. That’s not very true. Horses and mules that walk the parade route are very seasoned concerning loud noises. They have to be- parade routes are full of noise, from police sirens to marching bands with lots of trumpets and drums. I march with Krewe du Vieux, and the donkeys that pull our floats are approached by all sorts of parade watchers and loud noise dominates our parade. The donkeys behave beautifully throughout the entire route.

Snap Pops Now Banned at Mardi Gras

Also new this year- car riders can no longer perch themselves on the exterior of any auto. I guess the council considers this practice too dangerous? If you have a convertible, you are still allowed to have a single rider on the back of the open air car.

Illegal car rider for Mardi Gras 2014

For 2014, you cannot set up a bbq in an intersection while the parade rolls. This makes some sense, since it’s hard to move a lit bbq for an emergency vehicle. Lots and lots of ladders are still allowed to set up in intersections.  They can be moved rather quickly, but a lot of ladders would take a few minutes to move.