ROAD TO THE FAIR

PALMER — The Alaska State Fair generates great excitement, but parking and navigating around the state fairgrounds don’t do much to rev the engines of fairgoers.

With attendance rising every year, Alaska State Fair (ASF) organizers have approved through Alaska’s Department of Transportation a new traffic control plan for this year’s fair organizers hope will make getting in and out of the fairgrounds much safer and easier.

With an addition of about 1,500 parking spots, new exits and entrance areas and more staffing, parking at the fair is expected to be less of a hassle for the thousands who will visit the fair this year, said Ray Ritari, general manager for the Alaska State Fair. With two lots opening up, parking is expected to accommodate more than 8,000 vehicles at any given time during the fair.

Last year, sunny weather held strong for the fair’s 12-day run as record-breaking crowds made their way around the fairgrounds, prompting hours of backed-up traffic, long parking lines and poorly executed exit plans.

“In recent years, we’ve seen a significant increase in traffic at the fair, which has resulted in considerable traffic backups and wait times,” said Mike Carey, parking and traffic manager for Starplex Corp., which contracts with the fair for parking, traffic and crowd management. “We needed to make a change, so we developed this new traffic plan.”

Meeting with Starplex, fair organizers developed a blueprint that should make a noticeable difference for attendees, Ritari said.

“We’ve come up with a better way of getting vehicles on our site,” Ritari said. “This plan will maximize the resources we have and get people onto the site as quickly as possible. In the end, that’s the most important thing — getting people off the road and into the fair enjoying themselves.”

The Glenn Highway is where much of the state fair traffic backed up last year, due to limited parking spots, Ritari said. This caused slow entrance into the fairgrounds.

“We just don’t have the luxury of eight freeways leading into our fair,” Ritari said. “We’re dealing with an infrastructure that is not ideal, but we do the best with what we have.”

Fair parking over the years has been particularly rough on nearby businesses in Palmer, including the Colony Kitchen/Noisy Goose restaurant, located directly across the fairgrounds along the Glenn Highway.

Colony Kitchen Manager Wes Clements said that although the new parking plan may alleviate some congested parking conditions during the nearly two weeks of the fair, people will still try to find an easier way to get in and have fun, including filling the family restaurant’s lot.

“I really think they do their best,” Clements said of Alaska State Fair organizers. “It’s a tough situation for them, all things considered, but the state of Alaska needs to do something about the Glenn Highway, which is one of the worst intersections anywhere in Alaska.”

Clements said the fair parking situation won’t improve while the Glenn is still a two-lane highway.

“It’s quite the nightmare on that highway,” he said. “I’ve seen lots of wrecks at this intersection and the fair is the time where people get a little careless.”

Clements said he has six plywood signs he places around the restaurant’s parking lot and entrances to let people know that if they are parking to go to the fair, they risk being towed. Last year, Clements said he had 15 cars towed for ignoring the parking signs outside the Colony Kitchen.

“Last year wasn’t so bad,” he said. “We’re all on watch duty. Most people are good. If we tell them not to park here, 99 percent of those people will move their vehicles. But there are always a few that ignore us.”

To assist drivers in navigating the new traffic patterns, the fair is also installing new and improved directional signs along the major highways. Fair organizers are also recommending fairgoers give themselves plenty of time to arrive at the fair, especially prior to a special event.

“On nice days or before a concert, everyone has the same idea — to go to the fair,” Carey said. “So give yourselves extra time to get there.”

Ritari suggests fairgoers also consider attending the during the week when the fairgrounds are less crowded. School in the Mat-Su Valley begins Aug. 18, three days prior to the fair, which will put less stress on fairgrounds parking on weekdays.

Ritari also said that fairgoers are encouraged to carpool and use public transportation, such as the Alaska Railroad train that runs from Anchorage to the fairgrounds.

“Carpooling and public transportation are two ways to reduce traffic wait times and make the fair experience a whole lot easier for everyone,” Carey said.

Drivers who wish to drop people off or pick them up are also encouraged to use the designated drop-off area at the Green Gate, which is located by the train depot.

“It’s very easy to drop people off and pick them up at the Green Gate. Plus, it’s safer and it saves time,” Carey said.

Contact J.J. Harrier at valleylife@frontiersman.com or 352-2269.

DETAILS

Key changes to the Alaska State Fair parking and traffic plan.

Additional parking

Two more parking lots will be opened on weekends and special event nights to expand parking capacity. More than 40 acres of additional parking spots will open up on the Hamilton property off Inner Springer Loop that organizers hope will accommodate traffic from Palmer and Wasilla along the Palmer-Wasilla Highway, as well as from Anchorage and Wasilla on the Parks Highway.

Changes to the Red Lot

Fairgoers entering the Red Lot, which typically accommodates Anchorage traffic, will come in through a new entry road on Rebarchek with a two-lane entrance. Vehicles will also park in a new north-south direction.

Extra flaggers

On weekends and special event nights, the fair will have additional flaggers directing traffic. Flaggers will also be in place earlier in the day and will be on-call on high-volume days.

New exit strategies

An additional exit route along the Glenn Highway, as well as implementation of new exit strategies, will help fairgoers get in and out of parking lots faster and more efficiently.