Roanoke Rapids City Council prepared for December’s annual Christmas parade Tuesday by approving the temporary closure of Roanoke Avenue.

The parade will be held on December 3 and the road closure will be in effect from 1:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. The route of the parade is between the avenue at Fourteenth Street to First Street.

Police Chief Shane Guyant told the council in recent years the state department of transportation has made changes for closures of state roads for special events.

Because of those changes an ordinance is necessary.

The ordinance, which was unanimously approved, notes that the city council “acknowledges a long tradition of providing an annual Christmas parade for its citizens” and “acknowledges its citizens realize a financial benefit from holding an annual Christmas parade.”

The ordinance notes the parade requires approximately two hours to install signing and traffic control and also requires approximately two hours for removing signs, traffic control and litter cleanup.