Savannah Standard

City of Savannah issued the following announcement on Dec. 22.

The Enmarket Arena is slated to open in January, marking the culmination of the City of Savannah’s largest-ever municipal construction project. Maintaining its commitment to the integrity and history of surrounding neighborhoods, the City is working to minimize traffic impacts to residential areas and implement a temporary parking plan.

To minimize disruption to neighborhoods, the City and Oak View Group are working with the top traffic consultants in the industry to develop a short-term plan.

The two main road projects at Stiles Avenue and Gwinnett Street, along with construction of some of the parking lots, will lag behind the opening of the arena. The City will implement measures to discourage event attendees from parking in residential areas. If an event attendee ignores resident-only parking notifications and chooses to park on a residential street, their vehicle may be relocated by a contracted towing service.

Those who live closest to the site will receive information directly from the City about potential impacts but should expect higher traffic volumes in the hours immediately before and after events.

It is important to note that event ticketholders planning to drive and park near the arena will need to reserve a parking space in a temporary parking lot in advance. They will then receive specific instructions about the route to take to that parking spot. Details will be sent by Oak View Group to the email used to purchase event tickets within the next couple of weeks. It is essential for eventgoers to follow the directions provided if they're planning to drive and park to reduce traffic backups and neighborhood impacts.

Eventgoers also have options other than driving themselves, and there will be a dedicated location for rideshare drop off and pickup, along with a free trolley from the historic district to the arena site.

The opening of the Enmarket Arena is a huge milestone for our community, but it is also a tremendous change. Everyone’s cooperation is necessary to make the transition as smooth as possible until more permanent infrastructure improvements are completed in 2022.

Original source can be found here.