Supposedly, Thursday's attendance at the NC State Fair was 108,929 -- trumpeted as "a new record for Food Lion Hunger Relief Day." Maybe Anoop Desai (who performed that evening) was a bigger draw than anyone thought. But I drove by the fairgrounds at midday with no trouble at all; barely even had to slow down, in fact.
So what I want to know is this: How is it possible that yesterday's six-figure crowd apparently caused nary a traffic ripple, when a crowd of fewer than 60,000 for the Oct. 3 U2 show resulted in the mother of all traffic jams?
Comments
buses
Sun, 10/25/2009 - 11:45 — im4unc23Also, in addition to the smart poster's note of time duration, I would think many more attendees arrive by bus for the Fair than did for the U2 concert (although many smart concertgoers did avail themselves to the transportation services provided by such places as Tirnanog). When I was a teen, granted in another century, all 8th graders in the NC public schools had the opportunity to attend the NC State Fair (I suppose if one had the means to do so, but school or chartered buses transported us to Raleigh). Thursday may well be the day of choice for such outings. Did the reporter check with the always avid Fair folks about why and how Thursday's attendance was so high and with no traffic snafus?
BUSES
Sun, 10/25/2009 - 15:07 — dmenconi (author)That's kind of my point. The advance planning that typically goes into football games, State Fair and other events out there was totally absent in the case of U2. And as this story makes clear, those responsible did nothing after the fact but pass the buck.
so where is the review of
Sun, 10/25/2009 - 09:34 — gercohenso where is the review of Anoop's concert?
Duration of Event
Sat, 10/24/2009 - 02:12 — richardfocThe fairgrounds are open from 8:00 AM until midnight with attendees coming and going throughout the day. It's not like there where 108,929 people there at one time. On the other hand the parking lots for U2 opened at 3:00 PM with everybody (all 60,000 people) aiming to arrive in time for a 7:00 PM show. Another factor is the fact that the City of Raleigh runs buses (full buses...I've seen them arrive) to the fair...something that was not available for the U2 show.
And trust me when I tell you it was great weather coupled with free attendance in exchange for canned food that brought all those folks to the fair on Thursday...not Anoop.
Anoop
Sat, 10/24/2009 - 09:10 — dmenconi (author)"And trust me when I tell you it was great weather coupled with free
attendance in exchange for canned food that brought all those folks to
the fair on Thursday...not Anoop."
Ever heard of sarcasm, dude?...
Ever heard of sarcasm, dude?...
Sat, 10/24/2009 - 10:07 — richardfocSarcasm? I'm afraid I'm not familiar. I'll be sure to look it up. Thanks for the tip, dude.
EVER HEARD OF SARCASM, DUDE?...
Sat, 10/24/2009 - 12:42 — dmenconi (author)To quote James Taylor: That's why I'm here. ;>