PennDOT policy change adds cost to Lower Burrell VFW's Veterans Day parade

After decades of holding the annual Veterans Day parade in Lower Burrell, the local VFW doesn’t understand why they now have to pay $450 in insurance to stage this year’s parade.

“For what we have done for this country, the sacrifice and soldiers risking their lives, and now with a parade in their honor we have to pay money to have a parade — I think it is ridiculous,” said Lee Johnson, a Vietnam vet and commander of Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 92.

Post 92 will hold a Veterans Day parade at 11 a.m. Nov. 11 on Leechburg Road from city hall on Bethel Street to the American Legion Post 868 along Wildlife Lodge Road.

Without the insurance certificate for the special events permit, PennDOT will not approve a road closure for a parade or another event, Lower Burrell Councilman Chris Fabry said.

Earlier this year, PennDOT changed how it permits organizations to shut down a state road for a parade, said Jay Ofsanik, PennDOT’s spokesman in Westmoreland County.

For years, parade sponsors submitted an application for permission to close a state road. There wasn’t a requirement for insurance.

Then in early 2021, PennDOT rolled parade applications under the category of special event permits for road closures, which always required insurance, Ofsanik said.

“Having one permit allows for a consistent and fair application process for anyone requesting to hold an event on a state roadway,” he said.

Other groups in Lower Burrell also were hit this year by new insurance requirements for parades, including organizers of the St. Patrick’s Day parade and the American Legion’s Memorial Day parade.

At the Veterans Day parade, participants will include at least five local volunteer fire departments, the American Legion riders, local motorcycle groups, the Burrell High School marching band, state Rep. Bob Brooks and Mayor John Andrejcik.

Other festivities include a 9:15 a.m. service at Greenwood Memorial Park cemetery and a 12:30 p.m. memorial ceremony at the VFW with a three-gun volley salute and speeches.

Johnson remains displeased by the PennDOT policy.

“We can manage the budget, but the point is why all of a sudden do we have to pay money to have a parade?” he asked.