Walton Arts Center to test “event parking” Saturday, July 9

Photo by Todd Gill / Enlarge
Vehicles enter the Walton Arts Center parking lot from West Avenue Friday afternoon in Fayetteville.

The first official attempt to relieve post-event congestion in the Walton Arts Center parking lot will take place this weekend.

The parking lot, which is normally an hourly lot where motorists pay at a central kiosk or exit gate machines, will utilize human parking attendants Saturday evening or the “Guys & Dolls” performance at the Walton Arts Center.

Arts center officials were given the go-ahead by the Fayetteville City Council in early May to develop an “event parking” model to help speed up slow moving traffic leaving the lot after large-scale events.

Event parking will begin three hours before an event starts and will last until the parking lot is full or 30 minutes after the event has begun.

How it works

Between 5 and 8:30 p.m. on Saturday, parking at the Walton Arts Center lot will cost a flat fee of $5. The entry gate will be raised and a cash-only fee will be collected upon entry into the lot by WAC staff who will then hand over a validated parking ticket.

Repeat: This is a cash-only situation. Anyone who wishes to pay by credit card or debit card will need to park elsewhere.

Immediately following the end of the show, attendants will be stationed at each exit gate. The gates will again be raised, and staff will collect the validated tickets. Police will be directing traffic on Dickson Street and West Avenue, and the traffic light at the corner of Dickson Street and West Avenue will be controlled manual.

Anyone who entered during event parking who wishes to stay in the lot longer can use the validated ticket they received to exit.

From the news release:

It is our hope that we will be able to refine the process of moving high-volume traffic through a tight historic entertainment area safely and with better ease, much like the success of traffic control prior to and after Razorback football games that efficiently and safely moves high-volume traffic through the city.

For more information, contact Sharon Waters with the City of Fayetteville at 575-8277 or Beth Goodwin of the Walton Arts Center at 571-2747.