• For the first time, the children's costume parade takes the same route through Aachen's city center as the Rose Monday parade.
• The city has further expanded the already extensive security concept for the carnival parades on Sunday and Monday.
• The Department of Security and Order increases its presence during the parades.

On February 15 and 16, the traditional children's costume parade and the Rose Monday parade will take place in Aachen. For the first time, the children's costume parade will take the same route through Aachen's city center as the Rose Monday parade. This allows synergy effects to be exploited and disruption to the population to be reduced. Even though a comprehensive and regularly updated security concept has been in place for the parades for many years, the city administration has once again extended the previous security precautions in light of the recent attacks, "even though there can never be one hundred percent security," as Annekathrin Grehling, the city director responsible for security and order, emphasizes. "This re-examination and readjustment was necessary so that our carnival revellers can celebrate in the usual way," says Grehling. For this reason, the additional measures were also developed in the usual close coordination with the organizer of the children's costume and Rose Monday parade, the Aachen Carnival Committee (AAK), represented by President Frank Prömpeler.

Extended security concept

To ensure that all visitors and participants in the Aachen carnival parades on Sunday and Monday can continue to enjoy the "jecken Tage" without any worries, the city has supplemented the associated safety concept with additional mobile restraint barriers provided by the city. The safety concept requires stopping bans along the entire route of the procession. For this reason, on Tulip Sunday and Rose Monday, there is a ban on stopping on both sides along the route of the carnival procession from midnight to 7 pm. In addition, for organizational reasons to set up the Herne truck barriers used and for traffic reasons for detour routes, additional stopping bans are occasionally required in the vicinity of the parade route.

From Fat Thursday up to and including Ash Wednesday, APAG is offering a JeckenTarif for the Eurogress parking garage, under which the 24-hour rate in the Eurogress parking garage will be adjusted from 12 euros for one day to 7 euros.

The team of the central contact point for events in the Department of Safety and Order works hand in hand with the Department of Mobility and Traffic, Aachener Stadtbetrieb, the fire department, the police, ASEAG and the organizer to ensure that everything runs smoothly and keeps an eye on both the written concept and its implementation on the day of the event. In the run-up to the event, the stationary traffic control officers along the route of the procession and in the additional no-stopping zones will once again ensure that the events can take place.

During the parades, the Department of Safety and Order will have an increased presence. As usual, the coordination committee will meet again this year with representatives of all those involved in order to make the necessary decisions together, such as arranging further closures if necessary, coordinating the deployment of the medical service and reopening the parade route afterwards. The safety of everyone - the parade participants and the people on the roadside - is the top priority for the city administration, fire department, police, the Aachen Carnival Festival Committee and the emergency services.

Restraint barriers, barrier material and no stopping signs

A large part of the preparations on the streets will be carried out by Aachener Stadtbetrieb: around 600 barriers, stands and the corresponding poles as well as the additionally procured restraint barriers will be ready on the company premises on Freunder Weg to secure the route of the procession. 300 additional traffic signs will also be set up in the streets. All of the material has already been distributed selectively in the city center over the past few days. During the parades, there will be more than 100 road closures along the route to guide traffic around the processions. On the day of the event, the city's mobile restraint barriers and, once again, vehicles from Aachener Stadtbetrieb, ASEAG, Regionetz and the organizer will be deployed to protect the carnival procession, participants and visitors.

Now, just a few days before the carnival parades, the preparatory planning is largely complete. Those responsible are looking forward to Sunday and Monday, when they will once again be on duty with many colleagues and will be able to welcome many carnival revellers to Aachen.

Train route

The route for both processions leads via: Adalbertsteinweg - Wilhelmstraße - Theaterstraße - Aureliusstraße - Franzstraße - Kapuzinergraben - Friedrich-Wilhelm-Platz - Ursulinerstraße - Münsterplatz - Schmiedstraße - Rennbahn - Klappergasse - Jakobstraße - Markt - Großkölnstraße - Resolution: Sandkaulstraße

Further information can be found on the homepage www.aachenerkarneval.de.