Full Lots, Shuttle Delays Hamper Day 1 Of State Fair
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Huge crowds came out for day one of the Great Minnesota Get-Together.
Fair officials tweeted Thursday at 11 a.m. to announce that public parking lots were already full.
Anticipation of fair fun quickly turned to frustration as folks left their homes and hit the road.
"It's crazy, it's a lot of people everywhere walking, and there's no parking," said Plymouth resident Paul Peterson.
Even people who planned to leave their cars at a park-and-ride location and then take a bus to the fairgrounds hit a snag. The parking lots filled up fast. A family we spoke with from St. Michael said it took them two-and-a-half hours to get to the fair after finally getting a spot at Calvary Church in Roseville -- and then waiting for a bus.
"We started getting in line and never saw busses coming. They were supposed to come every 15 minutes, and they kept putting more cars in the parking lot and we were not going anywhere, they told us the bus would be coming in 20 minutes, an hour later it still wasn't there," Lori Stifter said.
Volunteers at the lot say about 400 people were waiting for a bus at one point.
"There was a line of people stretching all the way out," said Noah Mattfield of Calvary Church. "From what I heard, there were a couple of guys driving around, one almost hit a kid and almost caused a fistfight to break out."
One woman who waited in line for the shuttle near Mall of America said some passengers started finding other means of transportation.
"Even people that were 10 people behind us, they were taking Ubers and Lyfts to the state fair from this location because they didn't want to have to wait in the line," said Northfield resident Kelsey Mehl.
Several of the fair's shuttle locations, operated by Lorenz Bus Service, ran out of parking spaces.
Metro Transit's state fair express service also saw the two of its park-and-ride locations fill to capacity Thursday morning. Passengers said lines reached 200-300 people long as they waited for buses that were stuck in traffic. Because of a shortage of bus drivers, Metro Transit's state fair shuttle service begins at 9 a.m., which is an hour later than previous years.
Fairgoers heading toward the Twin Cities after work Friday better prepare for another round of traffic for several other reasons. Besides the fair, there are four sporting events at the same time in downtown Minneapolis: