The sense of dread over SunTrust Park game day traffic is pervasive and has been since the team announced the ballpark was coming to Cobb County.
A study found that a sold-out Braves game would add about 20,000 extra vehicles into the Cumberland area, which already isn't the picture of traffic health. (And that's without a bridge collapse.)
About 50 of the Braves’ 81 homegames will be during the week, according to a team executive.
So the Braves and Cobb have given drivers lots of suggestions — leave early, know your parking lot, use Waze, just Uber there.
But what can businesses do to help out with all these vehicles?
The Cobb Chamber and the Sandy Springs Perimeter Chamber gave some tips focusing on how folks on both sides of the Hooch can manage game day.
The Chambers have launched a joint website three days before the Braves' first game in SunTrust.
This partnership was born out of the reality that Braves fans will be filtering through nearby Sandy Springs roads to get to the stadium.
But what preceded this union was a heated back-and-forth between Cobb and Sandy Springs over the area's traffic flow that goes back decades, as detailed in a June 2016 piece by AJC columnist Bill Torpy.
Now that they are working together, here’s what the Chambers say businesses can to do help game day traffic:
- Add home games to the calendar: Encourage staff to add Braves home games to their work calendars and prominently post the schedule in common areas throughout the office. "This can build awareness and help everyone to plan ahead for the day's commute."
- Promote carpooling: Encourage staff to carpool on game days because fewer vehicles on the road means everyone gets to work faster.
- Consider a flex schedule: "If possible, give employees the option to adopt a 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., or 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. schedule on game days during the work week. This way, employees can be productive and off the road during peak game traffic."
- Try teleworking: Consider adopting a telework policy, which companies did following the I-85 bridge collapse, for game days in which qualifying employees could work from home. "It's a win-win — employees can enjoy a productive work day and fewer cars will be on the road."
WATCH: Several AJC staffers went on test drives beginning from locations throughout metro Atlanta to SunTrust Park to get a feel for game day traffic.
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