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WEBVTT -- A CENTRAL BUSINESS DISTRICTWITH THE REASON WHY.JENNIFER?JENNIFER: IT ALL COMES DOWN TOTIME.THIS UPCOMING MARDI GRAS, ALLTHE CARNIVAL CAPTAINS HAVEAGREED TO LIMIT THE NUMBER OFPERFORMERS BETWEEN FLOATS.THAT MEANS A FASTER PARADE, BUTFEWER MARCHING BANDS AND DANCEGROUPS.SOME PEOPLE SAY FASTER IS NOTALWAYS BETTER.♪ >> I LIKE THE DANCE GROUPS ANDTHE BANDS BECAUSE EVERYBODY'SLIKE, HEY, PARTY TIME.JENNIFER: BUT PARTY TIME WILL BECUT SHORT THIS MARDI GRAS.>> ARE YOU SERIOUS?JENNIFER: THEY WILL ONLY ALLOWONE BETWEEN EACH FLOAT.>> WELL, GIVE ME THE MAYOR'SPHONE NUMBER.I'LL CALL HIM UP AND WORK THISTHING OUT.JENNIFER: THIS THING WAS WORKEDOUT THIS SUMMER, BETWEENCARNIVAL CAPTAINS AND THE CITY,THEY AGREED ON A MAX OF 12OPENING GROUPS BEFORE THE LEADFLOAT, AND THEN JUST ONE BAND,DANCE GROUP, OR CLUB BETWEENEACH OF THE FOLLOWING FLOATS.AND HERE'S WHY.>> PARADES THAT USED TO TAKEABOUT HALF AN HOUR, 45 MINUTESTO GET OUT OF THE FORMATION AREANOW TAKE TWO HOURS, ANDEVERYBODY'S STACKED BEHIND THEMWAITING.JENNIFER: MORE MARCHING ELEMENTSTAKE MORE TIME.AND PARADES ARE ROLLING LATERAND LATER.>> SO NOW YOU HAVE A SITUATIONWHERE, IN THE CASE OF ALLA,WE ARE STARTING TO AN A HALFHOURS LATE AND NOT FINISHING --IT IS A DAY PARADE FOR 84 YEARS-- AND WE ARE NOT FINISHINGUNTIL 9:30 AT NIGHT.JENNIFER: THERE IS A SAFETYCONCERN, TOO, WITH FIRSTRESPONDERS FORCED INTO LONGERSHIFTS WITH LESS REST INBETWEEN.>> AFTER THE PARADES, YOU KNOW,THAT'S ONLY HALF THE WORK.OUR FIREFIGHTERS, PARAMEDICS,POLICE OFFICERS ARE STILL OUTMAKING SURE THAT ROADS ARERETURNED BACK TO NORMAL AND THATTHAT CLEAN UP PROCESS HAPPENS ASQUICKLY AND EFFICIENTLY ASPOSSIBLE.JENNIFER: IT'S A CHANGE BEINGTRIED OUT THIS CARNIVAL SEASON.AND IT COULD BECOME PERMANENT,

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Mardi Gras parades in New Orleans will be shorter this Carnival season. The number of marching units between the floats are being cut back because of safety concerns and problems keeping krewes rolling on time.Carnival captains said they’ve seen a lot more walking clubs, marching bands, dance groups and other performers wanting to participate in parades over the years. And they said that is a good thing, until it causes the parades to run too long and delay the next krewe in line to roll.Starting with the first 2018 Mardi Gras parade to roll Uptown on Jan. 6, there will be a maximum of 12 bands or groups allowed before the lead float and then just one between each of the following floats.Link: Download the WDSU Parade Tracker app hereThe change is just a recommendation this year, with all the parade captains agreeing to comply at a meeting with city officials this summer.“It has to come from the spirit of cooperation among the carnival captains now,” said John Beninate, who serves as captain of the krewes of Alla and Morpheus. “It’s now incumbent upon all of us to do it. Unfortunately, we’ve had to get rid of groups that we’ve had for decades. We just told them we just can’t have them because we have to work along with everybody else to do this.”Beninate said many of the groups they could not fit in their lineup were able to be worked into other parades, but some will participate in fewer parades this year.Aaron Miller, who is the New Orleans director of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness, said longer parades also cause delays in reopening streets and put a strain on the city’s first responders.“After the parades, that’s only half the work. We still have millions of people who visit our city and who are with us for a two, three-week period,” Miller said. “But we also have to go through the entire cleanup process, and our firefighters, our police officers, our paramedics are still out making sure that roads are returned back to normal and that that cleanup process happens as quickly and efficiently as possible.”The Uptown route will also be shorter this year, with the elimination of the Canal Street loop. That decision was made to allow traffic to flow in and out of the French Quarter during Uptown parades because Bourbon Street will be closed to all vehicle traffic this year.The city will also continue to crack down on what paradegoers bring to the neutral grounds during Carnival. Any prohibited items placed on the neutral grounds will be removed and thrown away, according to the city. For a list of prohibited items as well as parking and traffic information, click here.Keep up with local news, weather and current events with the WDSU app here. Sign up for our email newsletters to get breaking news right in your inbox. Click here to sign up!