Harvest Media Center
NB Liquor Harvest Park and Ride to Help Downtown Parking Congestion
September 5, 2008
Anyone who has struggled to find parking in the heart of the Harvest Jazz and Blues Festival site in Fredericton's downtown core knows spaces are at a premium during the City's largest annual event. To help ease parking pressure on the downtown, this year the Festival is launching the new NB Liquor Harvest Park and Ride program.
Festival patrons and Harvest volunteers can park their car for free and hop aboard a free shuttle that goes directly into the heart of the Festival site downtown. The same shuttle will return to the FREX parking lot throughout the night.
The NB Liquor Harvest Park and Ride will run approximately every 15 minutes, 3 p.m. to 3 a.m., Thursday through Saturday of the Festival. Pick up will be inside the FREX parking lot along Smythe Street. The return pick up point is at Wilmot Alley, beside Westminster Books, a location convenient to all Festival venues.
"The new service started as something for our volunteers and as an effort to cut down on greenhouse gasses produced by the Festival and reduce our carbon footprint," says Festival Chair Patti Graham, referring the event's new Green Your Harvest Initiative.
"But we quickly realized it would be equally valuable to our patrons. With downtown parking at a premium, especially during the Festival, this decreases congestion in the core and decreases the frustration of finding a parking spot just when you're favourite artist is about to step on stage," she says.
"Our shuttle will drop people off on King Street within a block and a half of all our venues. It'll be the most convenient way to get right into the Festival site. We're sure a free shuttle into and out of the downtown core will be welcomed by both our volunteers and our patrons," says Graham.
NB Liquor jumped on board the concept, so to speak.
"Alcool NB Liquor is proud to be the official Transportation Sponsor of the 2008 Harvest Jazz and Blues Festival. From an environmental perspective, we support the "Green Your Harvest Initiative," said Dana Clendenning, President & CEO, Alcool NB Liquor. "We encourage Harvest patrons to take advantage of the park and ride program and enjoy all the festival activities in a responsible way."
Users of the service will need to plan for a designated driver.
"It's really not designed to be overnight parking at the FREX, but we'd absolutely encourage that option if you've had a drink or two at the Festival. You can always pick up your car in the morning," says Graham.
The NB Liquor Harvest Park and Ride is an experiment that, if successful, will grow in future years.
"Our long term goal is to have a significant impact on reducing greenhouse gas emissions. If the Park and Ride concept is popular, we'll consider expanding it to the North side and the uptown hotels in future years," says Graham.
Graham says most of the environmental gains from the program this year will be from reducing the time volunteers and patrons spend driving around downtown and idling their cars in search of a parking spot.
