The long summer football drought is about to end in Atlanta as rabid football fans across the metro area prepare to converge on the Georgia Dome this Friday evening when the Falcons host the Tennessee Titans. Fans desire to watch football once again unfortunately is going to smack helmet to helmet with Atlanta’s notoriously bad Friday evening rush hour.
“A seven o’clock kickoff on Friday night combined with a Friday Atlanta rush hour always makes it challenging to get people to the dome,” said Jason Kirksey, senior communications specialist for the Georgia Dome.
The battle between commuters and football fans could be fierce and Kirksey has advice for those heading to the Dome
“If you don’t have a parking pass, take MARTA,” Kirksey said. “We have two MARTA stops within walking distance of the Dome (Vine City and Georgia Dome) and many MARTA stations offer free parking.”
This season, like last, fans have 1,500 fewer parking spaces available because of the on-going construction of the new stadium next to the existing Dome. Good news is coming in the fall however, as a new parking deck with 600 additional spaces is set to open.
Falcons fans might remember some traffic and parking woes getting to the Dome last season. This year Dome authorities hope for a smoother process.
“We took some bumps and bruises last year,” Kirksey said. It was a learning process. Losing part of Martin Luther King Jr. Drive and Georgia Dome Drive didn’t help.”
To make things easier this season, the folks at the Dome hired special traffic consultants to determine how traffic flow could be improved in and out of the area.
“They made a lot of recommendations,” Kirksey said. “From where we position police officers, to identifying our pinch points. They got up in a helicopter and mapped it all out.”
“We know what we are dealing with this year (in relation to the new stadium construction and traffic), and we have a lot better idea at the start of this season than at the start of last season.”
Another big help for traffic around the Dome comes this week when Mitchell Street reopens after months of being closed. That is a major artery that people use to get between Northside Drive and the Dome.
There is also a traffic command center set up to help improve traffic flow. Dome officials will be communicating with Atlanta Police, the Georgia Department of Transportation and their own employees to help determine where and why the traffic is slowing down.
For fans that have parking passes, there is a feature at gadome.com that will help them get to the game easier. On the website fans can enter in where they are coming from and what parking lot they will be going to and the site will deliver pre-programmed directions to provide the easiest route to the game.
Another online asset for Falcons fans will be the twitter account @FalconsTraffic. That account will be tweeting real-time traffic and transit conditions to fans both before and after games.
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