Concert traffic easing, but real test comes afterward
Downtown traffic, swollen by a 7 p.m. U2 concert at M&T Bank Stadium, was starting to ease as the event reached its scheduled starting time.
Baltimore Department of Transportation Department spokeswoman Kathy Chopper said traffic was still congested, with backups on Russell street as well as on Lombard, St. Paul and Light streets, but starting to slack off.
Concert-goers may have eased the pain by spreading out their arrival times. Many fans arrived at the stadium hours in advance.
The real test will likely come when the concert ends about 11 p.m. and 75,000-80,000 all try to get home at once. That's more people than the typical crowd for a Ravens game, and football fans know what the traffic can be like after Monday night football.
Here's betting a lot of folks miss their usual bedtime tonight.
Comments
How about some commentary on the shameful performance of the MTA after the concert? They managed to keep thousands waiting on the platforms for light rail trains for over an hour. What happened to the extra trains promised in the paper? If Baltimore wants to attract world-class acts, then the MTA needs to step up with efficiency. Did we really have to wait 20 minutes for the first train and close to 20 minutes for the next ones? It took over an hour to clear those platforms - I know because after the concert ended shortly after 11 pm, I was still waiting at 12:30 to board a train.
Posted by: Rebecca | June 23, 2011 10:09 AM