Free Shuttle Bus to be Available on July 4
A free shuttle bus service is to be available on Independence Day so that spectators going to the Melbourne’s 9 p.m. fireworks display will not have to contend with limited parking in the vicinity of Claude Edge Front Street Park. The buses will originate at the Melbourne Auditorium, 625 Hibiscus Boulevard, where parking will be plentiful.
The bus service will not begin until 7:10 p.m. on July 4, since budget constraints have eliminated other activities at the park. The park provides the primary viewing area for the fireworks display. In previous years, afternoon entertainment and evening concerts were also provided at the park.
Buses are to depart for the park at 7:10, 7:50, and 8:10 p.m. Buses are to return to the auditorium at 7:30, 8:10, 8:50, 9:30, and 10:10. The bus transportation is being funded by a $1,350 contribution from Reiss Engineering, Inc.
The portion of New Haven Avenue between Front Street and Highway U.S. 1 is to be closed to traffic from 4 p.m. to 11 p.m. on July 4. A section of Melbourne Avenue near Front Street will be restricted to eastbound traffic during the same period. The Melbourne Causeway is to be closed to vehicle and pedestrian traffic from about 8:15 to 10 p.m. for safety reasons. The boat ramp at Front Street is to be closed from 5 p.m. on July 3 until 9 a.m. on July 5.
The City co-sponsors an Independence Day parade organized by Honor America, Inc. and scheduled for 10 a.m. on July 4 in the historic downtown area of Melbourne. The parade is to begin on New Haven Avenue near the railroad tracks and proceed westward to Oak Street, then travel northward on Oak Street to the Liberty Bell Museum.
The $11,000 cost of the fireworks display is funded by community contributions, with the majority of funding coming from private businesses. Event co-sponsors include Brevard County Parks & Recreation; Gray Robinson Law Firm; Harris Sanitation Inc. - a Waste Management Company; Health First Health Plans; the Melbourne Greyhound Park/Club 52; The B.A.C.K. Center; Bright House Networks; Certified General Contractors; Coastal Mitsubishi/Coastal Hyundai; Dean, Ringers, Morgan & Lawton, P.A.; Florida Today; Frazier Engineering; Public Financial Management, Inc.; and Sutton Properties of Melbourne.
Other contributors include Bolton Partners Inc.; Brandon Properties; Hoyman, Dobson, and Company; the Town of Melbourne Beach; Nabors, Giblin & Nickersen, P.A.; Land Design Innovations; Meehans’ Office Products; the Town of Indialantic; Ascension Catholic Church; Henderson Southeast Corp.; Modus Operandi, Inc.; Professional Administrators; Sorenson Moving & Storage Co.; and Joyal Construction.
Other contributors include Dorothy & Ira Adams, Frederick & Helen Baker, Jackie Burns & Family, Michael Crotty, Theodor & Helouise Doroghazi, Frank & Estella Driskill, James & Katherine Fletcher, Eric & Alice Griggs, W. Ann McDougall, Jerry & Peggy Oliver, Ed & Lee Palmer, George & Evelyn Pasonski, Pat & Bill Poole, Lorraine Proulx, Edward & Barbara Reilly, Jack Schluckebier & Denise Young, Kathleen Spatenga & Lori Spatenga-Newman, Pat Swatek in memory of Enid Swatek, and Norman Williams.