AURORA | Getting a good view of the city’s Fourth of July fireworks display doesn’t to mean getting stuck in a traffic jam tonight.

In past years, the end of the annual fireworks over the Aurora Municipal Center has meant the beginning of traffic headaches for the hundreds of drivers who park at the Town Center at Aurora shopping center to watch the display. But Aurora police officials say they hope to get the traffic on the major roads around the Aurora mall back to normal within 45 minutes after the last fireworks go off for the city’s signature summer celebration.

CITY OF AURORA JULY 4 FIREWORKS EVENT

Festivities start on the Great Lawn at City Hall at 6 p.m.

15151 E. Alameda Parkway

Celebrate Independence Day with a fireworks show that lights up the area skyline. The city’s Municipal Center Great Lawn will feature live music, delicious food beginning at 6 p.m. and ends with a fireworks display revered as one of the best in Colorado.

Fireworks, visible from almost all of Aurora, begin about 9:30 p.m. near city hall. Parking there is limited.

“It is a long time if you’re waiting in line, but we do move an awful lot of cars,” said. Lt. Jeff Turner, who oversees the police department’s traffic section. “For anybody who is at the event, the sooner that you can move north or south, the better. A little bit of preplanning on everybody’s part will help us get everybody home.”

Every year, the event draws hundreds of visitors to the Great Lawn at the municipal center to take in a free program that includes live music and food carts. The centerpiece of the celebration, however, comes with the fireworks display that kicks off after sundown. That draws huge crowds to the parking lots and shopping centers around the center, including the Mall at Alameda Avenue and Sable Boulevard.

“In the past, we’ve always allowed for people to come and park and enjoy the fireworks that start at 9:30 p.m.,” said Don Cloutier, the Town Center’s general manager. “We’ll have our staff out there and some of our security people out there. What they’ll be focusing on is answering questions about where they can park or where they can’t park.”

Cloutier added that the Town Center itself will remain open until 7 p.m. this year, a one-hour extension from last year.

The free parking at the mall offers latecomers a different vantage for the display, but it’s also meant additional traffic snags after the final firework goes off.

According to Turner, traffic restrictions will reroute incoming traffic westbound and eastbound from Chambers. Along with controlling traffic lights along Alameda, they hope to minimize the delays around the mall.

“We’ll be controlling any of the major intersections in that area. The idea is to get people away from that center of activity as quickly as possible,” Turner said. “The problem is the event grows every year.”

But Turner added that carefully planning routes after the display could cut down wait time for individual drivers.

“If you live south, park south of Alameda. Park on the north side if you live north, and your chances of getting out are much better,” he said.