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Saturday, April 29, 2006
Spectators settle in
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The waits get into the parking lots for the air show at Naval Air Station Atlanta were shorter than the waits to get into the portable toilets.
Traffic flowed smoothly and without backups all morning under a well-organized plan. It had people parking in three large lots nearby and riding a fleet of buses into the base.
The waits for shuttles, which moved people from the lots to the base show area, provided the only significant delays.
It took one to two hours of standing in line to catch a shuttle once the crowds began arriving in force.
People arriving early avoided those long waits.
Grant Scarborough of Porterdale, Ga., got up at 5 a.m. and arrived at the parking lot at Whitewater park about 6 a.m. He was the second person in the parking lot, he said.
“I was kind of excited about it. I was determined this year to get on the base,” he said.
Officials limit the crowd to the first 50,000 people, though thousands of others watch from nearby roads, yards and parking lots.
“From what I’ve been told, this may be the last (air show), so I want to see it all,” he said.
He stepped onto the first bus leaving the parking lot about 8:30 a.m.
Others avoided the delay of standing in a shuttle line simply by pulling out their folding chairs in the parking lot at Lockheed, which adjoins the air base.
Greg and Mary Anne Bedingfield of Marietta made the easy drive from their home in minutes, but when they saw the line for the shuttle they had second thoughts.
“I asked [one of the workers], ‘Can you see real well from the parking lot?’ And she said, ‘Oh, sure.’”
The Bedingfields settled in next to their car and enjoyed the show.
“And this is right next to the exit,” Mary Anne Bedingfield said. “This is a good place.”
Lockheed lot closing
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Lockheed parking lot is about to be closed. Cars coming in on South Cobb Road/Highway 280 are being directed past Lockheed to Atlanta Road, where they’ll turn left to Generals Road. About 1,000 parking spaces are available there.
Parking lots filling up
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Lockheed parking lot is expected by be filled by 11 a.m. The Whitewater parking lot was about 75 percent filled at 10:15 a.m.
Lockheed lot filling up
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
At 9:40 a.m. the Lockheed lot was about half full. So far, there have been no backups entering the lot.
Early risers stream into air show
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Early risers avoided traffic and put themselves in place to get the best seats for the air show Saturday morning.
They arrived from neighboring cities and states, some having left home shortly after 3 a.m., to assure themselves they would be one of the 50,000 let into Naval Air Station Atlanta to watch the Blue Angels perform.
Though the stream of cars into the parking lots began as early 7:45, the coordinated and well-publicized parking and shuttle bus plan was working smoothly.
Lineups of Cobb Community Transit busses began moving the arriving crowds from parking lots at Lockheed and Whitewater by or before 8:30, as promised. It was much better than last year, said Mike Bailey of Acworth. Bailey fought traffic for three hours last year to try to get into the lot at Lockheed, only to be turned away when he finally got to the gate.
“Two dollars [for the shuttle] is a lot better than sitting in traffic and burning gas,” he said.
He chose to ride in from the parking lot at Whitewater, just off I-75, figuring the traffic at the Lockheed lot would be more crowded.
At 8:40 a.m., John Quigley, a Cobb County spokesman, reported the traffic flow plan at the Lockheed lot also was working smoothly and that there were no early tie-ups in town or on the highways.
Motorist are being reminded that parking for the NAS Air Show is limited to the Lockheed parking lot on Delk Road and shuttle service is being provided from White Water on Cobb Parkway to the base. There is no public parking along Atlanta Road or Generals Way which runs off Atlanta Road.
