The Last Chance Stampede is back at the Lewis and Clark County Fairgrounds. Last year, at the main entrance by Custer Ave, traffic backed up for hours during some of the fair’s biggest events. Now, fair organizers and law enforcement say they’ve made changes in hopes of keeping vehicles moving more smoothly this year.
“We had traffic backed up all the way to Montana,” said Lewis and Clark County Sheriff Leo Dutton. “People were frustrated; they couldn’t get in. We heard that, we made changes.”
Last year, some of the 50,000 fairgoers experienced traffic issues getting to the fairgrounds, even missing some of the concert.
To get a head start, fairgrounds staff started organizing in January with law enforcement, meeting once a month to come up with ways to make the grounds more accessible.
Fairgrounds manager Kevin Tenney learned one big lesson last year that he believes will help significantly.
Don't hold a concert and a rodeo on the same night,” Tenney stated. “That way we don't have 3000 people coming to a concert and 3000 people coming to a rodeo. That eliminates a big part of that problem.”
This year, concerts are held on Tuesday and Wednesday night, with the rodeo kicking off on Thursday.
That wasn’t the only change. Additional signage will be stationed roadside to direct traffic to one of three free parking lots: the east entrance off of Green Meadow and Silsbee, the main entrance, and the west entrance past the baseball fields.
Cars will be directed depending on where they’re coming from and where they’re headed, especially at the intersection of Custer and Henderson where traffic was the worst.
“Every other car, one can go straight in north, or they can go to the west parking lot,” Dutton explained. “We encourage people to go to the west parking lot; it's actually closer.”
Law enforcement and officials recommend arriving early if possible to enjoy the fair ahead of the festivities and claim your spot.
“Plan accordingly, know there’s gonna be a wait, but we're hoping these steps we've taken will help alleviate some of it,” Tenney said.
Officials say they’ll continue monitoring traffic throughout the week and could make adjustments if congestion becomes an issue again.
