If you’re driving out of downtown Chattanooga during the Riverbend Festival, be prepared to turn right.
Chattanooga police have set in place a traffic plan that they hope will ease congestion and move more people out of downtown each night more quickly. During a Thursday morning meeting with local media, Lt. David Roddy and Sgt. Austin Garrett shared details of traffic changes.
After the last concert ends each night and folks are headed out of downtown, nearly all intersections will have flashing traffic lights, they said, and traffic police will direct motorists. Most traffic headed south, away from the Tennessee River, will be diverted to U.S. Highway 27 and Amnicola Highway, forcing most folks to turn right.
The priority is to get people to their cars, then move the cars, Lt. Roddy said.
“People move first,” he said. “The plan is to push you to a major artery.”
There also will be changes for the last night of the festival — Saturday, June 19 — which typically sees heavy attendance, especially during the fireworks show following the last act. On that day, the Walnut Street Bridge will be closed to pedestrians beginning at 4 p.m.
“We realize this disrupts what has been people’s customs,” Lt. Roddy said.
But because of safety concerns about the bridge’s capacity from officials at the city’s Department of Public Works and past problems with 50,000 or more people flooding the North Shore after the concert, police have decided to close the bridge for that night, he said.
The Market Street Bridge will only be open to northbound traffic on June 19, and drivers will be able to either drive straight once they exit the bridge or turn left onto Cherokee Boulevard.
“Everything is designed to flow traffic out at a steady pace,” Sgt. Garrett said.
GETTING AROUND* Use Georgia Avenue or take Martin Luther King Boulevard or Market Street South to exit downtown* Watch for pedestrians while driving* Watch for traffic police and heed their directions* Do not park in private parking lots without permission. You will be towed.FESTIVAL FINALEOn June 19:* Walnut Street walking bridge will close at 4 p.m.* Market Street bridge will be strictly northbound* Olgiati Bridge shoulder will be closed, Manufacturers Road and Manning Street exits will be closedSource: Chattanooga Police Department
Lt. Roddy also said festivalgoers can get out of the traffic much easier if they park farther from the Tennessee River and use Georgia Avenue or head south on either Market Street or Martin Luther King Boulevard to leave downtown after the festival.
On June 19, the Tennessee Department of Transportation also is placing traffic barrels on the shoulder of Olgiati Bridge to prevent cars from pulling over on the side of the road, which has been a previous problem, officials said.
At the Bessie Smith Strut on Monday night, a change has been made to help cleanup after the event Monday evening.
Vendors will not be allowed to set up on sidewalks, Lt. Roddy said, which will help pedestrians exit the area while street-sweepers begin their work at the 10 p.m. close of the event.
Interim police Chief Mark Rawlston advised drivers to watch where they park their cars. Private lots will tow illegally parked vehicles.
“That’s not the Chattanooga police towing your car; that’s a private owner,” he said.
Officials from Chattanooga, the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Department, Tennessee Highway Patrol, Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, TDOT, Chattanooga Fire Department, TVA police and the Coast Guard will all be working aspects of the festival, Chief Rawlston said.