Traffic Clogs Streets Around Candlestick, Keeps Scores Of Music Fans From McCartney Concert
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- Traffic problems kept scores of music fans from arriving on time to Candlestick Park for the Paul McCartney concert Thursday night.
Thousands of cars clogged city streets around the stadium hours after the concert started.
"Three and a half hours. We came from Newark, and we're handicapped, and we can't even find a place to park," one woman said, as she circled searching for a spot.
TRAFFIC: KCBS Current Road Conditions
"There's no one managing the traffic. The flow is really difficult to get in and out of the lanes. It's a mess," another concertgoer said.
At about 7 p.m., cars started to back up on entry road that leads from Highway 101 to the stadium and became progressively worse. San Francisco Police told KCBS that was because the main parking closed early and drivers were told to find supplemental parking passed the stadium.
Traffic Clogs Streets Around Candlestick, Keeps Scores Of Music Fans From McCartney Concert
Later, about 10:30 p.m.—one and a half hours after the performance began—people were so frustrated that many of them just pulled over their vehicles, got out and listened to the rest of the concert along the roadway.
Not only was traffic a nightmare for many getting to the concert, but it was equally as frustrating for those trying to get home. It took as much as two hours for some concertgoers to leave.
"I've been to Candlestick at least 50 times for one reason or another and this a horrible way to end the legacy of a great concert. And the legacy of the Stick is damaged immensely by this," Tim from Walnut Creek, who didn't give his last name, told KCBS.
Paul Rose, spokesman for the San Francisco Municipal Transit Agency, told KCBS that parking is handled privately and not by the city.
There were reports early Friday morning that there were people, some paying at least $200 or more tickets, who never made inside the venue.
The concert was Candlestick's final event. The park is scheduled to be demolished in late 2014 or early 2015.
