by David Chapman
Staff Writer
Whether it’s watching monster trucks roar, the Fonz and crew sing and dance, listening to The Beatles tribute or looking for tips in home improvement this Saturday, get to your Downtown entertainment venue of choice early.
That’s the advice from Sgt. Leonard Propper of the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office special events division, who expects to see Downtown crowds at least in the mid-70,000s this weekend.
The massive influx of pedestrian and automobile traffic will come from what Propper said is “almost a perfect storm” Saturday: The ever popular Monster Jam series returns to Jacksonville Municipal Stadium during the same time frame as “Happy Days: A New Musical,” and Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra’s tribute to The Beatles is at the Times-Union Center and the annual Jacksonville Home & Patio Show at the Osborn Center.
Minus Jacksonville’s Super Bowl in 2005, the closest comparison to the expected amount of traffic is an annual affair that always draws a crowd.
“It’s going to be comparable to the Florida-Georgia game,” said Propper. “Not so much in pedestrian traffic, but in cars it will.”
With an anticipated sellout of close to 70,000, the Monster Jam show will by far draw the largest crowd, and Propper said traffic patterns will be similar to Jacksonville Jaguars home games.
According to Propper, most of the traffic will come from the north and west and traffic officers will redirect traffic in stages depending on flow. Certain streets will convert to one-way and once Bay Street is congested, traffic will be diverted to both Union and Monroe streets, followed by MLK Parkway.
Propper noted that traffic for the show will be more hectic than Jaguars games for reasons other than the number of people Downtown.
“For Jaguars games, the shuttle service takes some of the sting out of traffic,” he said. “The difference with the monster truck show is that there’s only one shuttle (located at the corner of North Broad and West Monroe streets) to bring people to and from the stadium.”
With so many events taking place at the same time, Propper said planning for this weekend started long ago and will include things like an air unit for a bird’s eye traffic view, more than a dozen signboards alerting of traffic patterns, more than 100 JSO traffic units and cooperation with local radio stations to broadcast traffic patterns and ticket availability, as the event has a large walkup crowd.
“We don’t want traffic sitting still,” said Propper, “but we do anticipate significant delays.”
For those coming to non-monster truck related events, Propper advised to go through San Marco and over the Acosta Bridge and arrive early.
While he expects the Stadium lots to be full by 3 p.m. with close to 10,000 –15,000 people taking part in tailgating and partying, Propper has some additional advice for those planing on just attending the 7:30 p.m. show.
“It is imperative you come early,” said Propper. “Plan on being in the Sports Complex no later than two-and-a-half hours before show time if you want to ensure you’ll make show time.”
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