Groveland Twp.- The Michigan Renaissance Festival is over, but the traffic and parking woes for the late summer township event continue.
On Tuesday night, the township board of trustees and Supervisor Bob DePalma vehemently expressed concern with the congestion from the festival that draws more than 250,000 visitors between Aug. 22 through Oct. 4.
‘We’ve had bad days out there before, but this was the absolute worst,? said DePalma. ‘When the festival draws 22,000 people per day it’s fine, but when those numbers top 29,000 like it did for two weekends, there are problems.?
Renaissance officials did not returns calls for comment.
DePalma’s concern stems from the Renaissance Festival weekends of Sept. 19-20 and 26-27, where traffic on Dixie Highway was bumper-to-bumper for miles in both directions for several hours. Traffic stretched from the Renaissance entrance north to I-75 then south to McGinnis Lake and on Grange Hall Road west over the I-75 ramp. The gridlock boxed in the township fire station and at one point forced an emergency service vehicle to travel the wrong way down Dixie Highway, he said.
DePalma added that additional parking at Mt. Holly was supposed to be part of the solution this year.
‘That did not happen,? he said. ‘I don’t care if they hire a traffic engineer, buy more signs or increase the number of sheriff deputies to direct traffic? there needs to be changes.? The Renaissance Festival is located in Holly Township, but Groveland Township has the responsiblity of parking as well as access from Dixie Highway. As a result, a meeting is forthcoming between townships, Renaissance Festival officials and others to determine just what they can safely handle in the area. In past years, Renaissance Festival officials have applied for and been granted a permit with the township for operations.
‘We did have a three-year permit with the Renaissance people; however, it’s now going to be year-to-year,? he said. ‘It’s just not working’there’s no place to park the cars. If they can’t handle the crowds then we may suggest capping the number of people that can attend the event.?
The parking will require additional acres to accommodate the traffic, added DePalma. About 150 cars can be parked on one acre.
‘Right now there’s about 8-9,000 parking places? they need an additional 3,000 spaces,? he said. ‘They are right now looking to add 30 acres for parking. There’s also a concern from parking on the east side of Dixie Highway since the festival is on the west side of the road. If they have to cross the road to get to the festival, visitors are going to get hit.?