BRIDGEPORT — Do not expect defunct bands Traffic and The Cars to be booked at the new amphitheater.
Still, traffic and cars are on developer Howard Saffan’s mind as the venue nears its summer grand opening.
He and the city are aiming to improve the experience for ticket-goers entering and leaving the downtown and harbor front for shows by waiving parking fees and other charges to reduce gridlock.
“It’s not to say we won’t have issues,” Saffan said this week. “Our goal is to alleviate any issues we may have to the best of our ability.”
Saffan knows full well how a night-on-the-town in Bridgeport has in the past turned into a night-stuck-in-an-idling car. Before partnering with the city in 2017 to transform the former municipal minor league baseball stadium into an outdoor concert attraction, Saffan at one time ran the indoor entertainment arena next door.
When big stars — say Elton John — have come to town, they have drawn plenty of fans who get stuck on the Interstate 95 exit ramps and then in downtown heading to the two surface parking lots and parking garage.
So two years ago, Mayor Joe Ganim’s administration hired a consultant to draft a better traffic management plan for the neighborhood. The amphitheater was originally supposed to open that year, but construction delays and 2020’s coronavirus pandemic pushed that off until this summer. The first publicly announced show is Blackberry Smoke on July 30.
The mayor’s office declined to comment when asked about the results of the $60,500 study, but Saffan detailed some of the things being done to ease congestion.
He said the two municipal lots outside the amphitheater will be merged into one — they are currently split by a short road the city is planning to abandon, then add entrances and resurface with 1,000 newly-striped spaces.
“The most important improvement of all is making parking free” at both the lots and the 1,500 garage, Saffan said. Much of the prior traffic backup, he said, was because “you would pull up to a singular gate, hand them money, they give you the change, and now you can come in.”
“That transaction takes between a minute and two minutes versus you pull up to four entrance gates and load right in,” Saffan said. “Not charging for parking knocks out about 80 percent of the issues.”
The City Council, after initially turning down the proposal, recently voted to lease a section of the parking lot to Saffan to sublease it to an advertising company to erect a billboard for promoting the amphitheater. But Councilman Scott Burns, a budget committee co-chairman, confirmed the city’s 2017 deal with Saffan did not require Bridgeport share in a portion of amphitheater parking revenue, meaning Saffan is able to waive that fee if he wants.
The state owns the parking garage. Saffan said the amphitheater will cover that revenue to provide free parking there.
Saffan also said there will also be improved signage helping guide visitors off both I-95 and the Routes 8/25 Connector and through downtown to the venue. And some downtown streets will temporarily become one-way on event days/nights to send vehicles in a “loop” through the neighborhood rather than having long, criss-crossing lines of cars.
“That’s what the consultants were saying — ‘You need a loop, guys,’” Saffan said. “That also eases the burden on police for traffic control.”
Lauren Coakley Vincent, head of the Downtown Special Services District, said “the idea of circulating traffic in the downtown is a good idea.”
I-95 splits the majority of downtown businesses from the amphitheater/arena, but those establishments — particularity the restaurants — have said they want to encourage event goers to patronize them before and after.
Vincent acknowledged the importance of better traffic flow, “Especially if there’s a night when the arena and amphitheater both have an event. It’s going to be a challenging experience.”
“I remember when (actors/comedians) Adam Sandler and Kevin Hart performed at the arena,” Vincent recalled. “You were in your car for a very long time.”
Saffan said the still-under-construction amphitheater has been getting some experience by hosting spring graduations.
“In August, we have six concerts in a row,” he said. “So the police detail will get better. Our traffic controls will get better. And we’ll see where our weak spots are.”
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May 29, 2021 at 07:05PM
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Bridgeport wants concert goers to have smooth ride to amphitheater - CTPost
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