Parking restrictions, which means even less parking available? One more reason not to go downtown for the market, which has great farmers but which is now just way too crowded for my taste.

The parking restrictions seem minimal in exchange for the safe and clear transit between the east and west lot, but we'll know more on Sunday

So...they made it harder to actually drive to and access the market? What a great idea and one only the city would think of.

Just last year, they started charging for the parking lot directly across the street. Now with the closures, I guess you have to park up on Saint Paul to get close enough to here. Either that, or you could pay a homeless guy near the war memorial to keep an eye out for your car.

it doesn't sound like it will he harder to access the market but I guess we'll know more on Sunday.

Sounds like a good idea worth trying. And if you're too cranky or upset with the change, just go to Giant instead! More room and parking at the market for me....

Jeebus people. I park on Guilford regularly, and on Old Falls Rd. Never an issue. And "the market is just too crowded" is one of the weirdest complaints I've ever heard. This is a public market, you expecting some private shopping or something? Closing the small connector streets should actually help slim crowd size down a bit. Please, just stop complaining and enjoy the the food, farmers and people.

Traveler, nah, I'll go to Wegman's - their produce is sooooo much better than Giant's. Or I'll go to one of the many, many other farmer's markets. I've never been hit by a car crossing the street at those markets, as I was last year by some ditz so excited to see a parking space opening up that she backed up the street without bothering to check her rear view mirror to see if there was anyone (person or vehicle) behind her!

Really, for me, it's just gotten too crowded - just my opinion, yours may vary.

Go early and don't drive. Always works for me :)

Mar, you were hit by a car crossing the street at the farmers market - and yet you are unhappy that they are now restricting the streets around the farmers market? Oh, the irony!!!!

Police need to close the 200 block of N. Gay street as well.

Who needs parking? I just put my kid and some shopper baskets on my bicycle. Problem solved. Or why not just take the bus, there are about a dozen bus lines and bus stops at that location. Plus a couple metro stops. Plus the Marc train and Light rail nearby. Of the many options, driving is probably the least-sensible option.

I have been told the the JFX Farmers market will be closed Labor Day weekend to handle over flow traffic from the Grand Prix. This extra opening time is an olive branch to the farmers from the city if my information is correct. Local farmers still will never be able to make up lost sales on one of the biggest if not the biggest day of the year.

interesting, thanks Alan, I'll check into it

Lee:

MARC doesn't run on Sundays. Or Saturdays, for that matter. Light Rail doesn't start operating until 11 AM on Sundays, either.

Besides which, have you ever tried schlepping a basket of fruit, a flat of berries, and/or two grocery bags home on the bus or subway? I'm sure that problem is why we don't see more lower-income folks benefit from the markets, and why it seems that the markets are becoming more like a Wegman's or Whole Foods (in class and price) than a true farmer's market tradition akin to what you see roadside in South Jersey or southern Maryland......

Lee, you are correct in that it does sound ironic for me to complain about the lack of parking when I was hit by a car. That's the problem, though - everyone is searching for a parking space in an area without much parking. I do not live in the city and will not take the bus downtown; it would take way too much time and be too difficult to carry my purchases home. The bike won't work either.

GMan, all I'm saying is that over the years, the market has become so popular (for good reason) that it's hard to move around; the lines for the coffee, donuts, crepes, etc., are long and take up a lot of room. The people are, for the most part, very pleasant and hopefully the farmers are making a good income by selling at the market. However, as more groups are added (crafts, new vendors this year, etc.,), it's just outgrowing the space available, at least to me.

For me, there are too many other markets available on other days and in other places to bother coming downtown and being annoyed at the crowding and lack of parking. I want my shopping to be pleasant and to have enough room to get around the strollers, the pets that people still bring despite the rule against it, and the people who stop to greet others in the middle of the aisle. I want to have enough room to stop and talk to my friends as well without feeling that I'm impeding the flow of traffic. The Sunday market downtown just doesn't fit the bill for me; I'm glad it does so for others, though.

I still love the JFX market, but if I can't get there by 7:15 AM then I don't bother. It gets way too crowded with clueless people with their dogs, triple wide strollers, wagons and the like. Then there are the people who congregate in the aisles to visit with their friends and have no idea that they are blocking the flow of traffic.