The ins and outs of Consol Energy Center parking
-
The new arena, where you can park inside for $20.
Share with others:
The venue may be new, but the parking lots and traffic patterns are not.
Consol Energy Center will use the same surface parking lots that Mellon Arena did, though the new venue also has a new 500-space garage with special parking for compact and environmentally friendly cars.
For each of this week's Paul McCartney concerts, arena doors will open at 6 p.m. -- 90 minutes before showtime, said Rob Goodman, the center's assistant general manager and marketing director.
About 2,400 spaces are available in the five surface lots--the West lot, accessible from Washington Place; the North lot, accessible from Bedford Avenue; and the South, East and Melody Tent lots, accessible from Centre Avenue. Parking for these concerts is $15 cash, payable upon entry, Mr. Goodman said.
The new four-story parking garage, attached to the arena, is accessible from Centre Avenue. The $20 charge is payable with cash or credit cards -- before or after the concerts -- at two pay machines and the cashier's station on level 4.
Mr. Goodman said the garage has set aside 48 spaces for compact cars and 28 for low-emission, fuel-efficient vehicles. Attendants will direct cars to those spaces.
In addition, Mr. Goodman has identified dozens of other nearby lots where concert-goers may park. That includes the 2,000-space Chatham Center garage, accessible from Washington Place and Fifth Avenue, which will charge motorists $20 cash upon entry.
No street closures are planned for the concerts, police spokeswoman Diane Richard said.
"As with any big concert, you can expect traffic delays with some amount of congestion," she said, suggesting ticket-holders use public transportation or park in peripheral lots and walk to the arena.
Event and commuter traffic will overlap before each McCartney concert, Mr. Goodman said, giving the arena and city a chance to try out a new traffic management plan that better ties the number of staff and police to crowd size. Ms. Richard said the department will post officers at corners around the arena.
Mr. Goodman said daily commuters who park in arena lots will have to leave by about 5:30 p.m. on concert days to avoid paying a $20 event surcharge.
As they head into town, concert-goers might want to keep an eye on their phones and other portable electronic devices. In the event of severe traffic or other problems, the arena will send text message and e-mail alerts to those who signed up for them, Mr. Goodman said.
While some of those heading to the concerts probably are well familiar with Uptown traffic patterns, the events also will draw out-of-town visitors who don't know their way around. They should be aware that not all GPS systems may recognize the new arena's address at 1001 Fifth Ave., Mr. Goodman said.
First Published August 15, 2010 12:00 am
