HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. — There's still another month left for the Carolina Renaissance Festival to be in town and neighbors who live in the area hope traffic control in November will be better managed after voicing their concerns.
Tuesday night community members, law enforcement, NCDOT and Renaissance Festival organizers all came together to discuss solutions to the traffic nightmare created by the large crowds.
One of the suggestions is improving traffic flow from parking.
“Starting this weekend we have an additional team joining us from a parking service company," Renaissance Fest organizer Jeff Siegel said. "It's not as large as we want it to be, but it’s a substantial team of professionals.”
NCDOT said it also plans to review a new Traffic Management Plan created by the Renaissance Fest but plans to expand Poplar Tent Road which many neighbors advocated for isn't something that can happen in the immediate.
Instead, some say they would at least like to see more police presence around the event to help keep everyone safe.
“I'm seeing a lot of people leaving the Renaissance Fest at 5:30 at night when it's starting to get dark," one neighbor said. "They’re dodging cars on 73."
Initially, there were threats of a planned protest to block cars heading to the Renaissance Fest on Saturday but Huntersville Police warned against that, saying any impediment to traffic is illegal.
Residents also proposed a list of requests like potentially limiting daily attendance and having regular meetings to discuss the traffic plan.
"We want to be good neighbors," Siegel said. "Traffic control is our number one priority."
Community members and Renaissance Fest stakeholders plan to meet again on Nov. 9 to review the traffic changes that will be put in place and see what difference they may have made.
Contact Briana Harper at bharper@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.