Tips and tricks to avoid parking mishaps at this year’s Bridge Day

FAYETTE COUNTY, W.Va. (WVVA) - Whether you’re new to Bridge Day or have been going to West Virginia’s largest single-day event for years, the last thing you want standing in your way of the base jumping and vendors is parking.

With more than 140,000 people expected to attend Saturday’s events, that might be hard to do. That’s why those involved are giving some tips and alternatives for incoming motorists.

One option is to pay $5 cash to use the Bridge Day shuttle service.

“The roads are gonna be bananas,” shared Executive Assistant of the Fayette County Chamber of Commerce and Bridge Day Office Tim Naylor. “There’s gonna be cars everywhere, but we do offer shuttle parking locations. We have four of them on the south side and two on the north that we hope people will use to alleviate some of the parking that you see on the highway because, you know, we don’t want people to park on the highway...one, it’s not legal, and, two, it’s not safe for your car or for other traffic.”

Shuttles will be picking up passengers from 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on Saturday. After the 1:30 p.m. cutoff, they will only be dropping off as Bridge Day will shut down at 3 p.m. Shuttle locations on the south side of the bridge are at the Fayette County Courthouse, Fayetteville Walmart, New River Health and Fayetteville PK-8. The north side locations are at Midland Trail High School and Lighthouse Worship Center.

While that service can be for guests traveling from near or far, another option may appeal to those closer to the festivities. Throughout Bridge Day, Active Southern West Virginia will offer a free bike valet for those who want to skip using their car altogether.

Bikes can be dropped off at Studio B Art Gallery on Keller Avenue in Fayetteville and picked up at any time.

“Having this option really gives you the opportunity to have a great experience at Bridge Day without having to worry about that hour of time you’re gonna spend trying to find parking and that hour of time- or however long it takes- to find your car at the end of the day,” shared Michael Fisher, Workplace Wellness Director for Active Southern West Virginia.

While Naylor suggests steering away from parking in the Town of Fayetteville if you are attending Bridge Day, Tabitha Stover, Executive Director of the Fayetteville Visitors Center, says it may not be a bad idea if you are planning to skip the event or if you want to attend any of the after Bridge Day activities.

She shared some alternative routes to get into town while avoiding road closures.

“Usually in the past, they shut down Court Street from the light from 19 for the early day festivities and they open it later in the day,” she told WVAA. “We have issues with people sometimes trying to find their way to town, so if you are trying to come to Fayetteville, Laurel Street...by the Comac off of 19 is the way to come in, and then you’ll see the school, and you can turn on Maple that way to enter town.”

Stover says that anyone planning to attend those after-Bridge Day events, like the Chilli Cook-Off Saturday evening, should consider parking in town that morning and using the shuttle service stop at the courthouse to get to the bridge. She adds that additional parking will be available at the Board of Education Building and school bus lot on Fayette Avenue, as well as at several of the area’s churches.

For more information on Bridge Day, visit officialbridgeday.com. The New River Gorge Bridge will be closed to traffic starting at 7 a.m. Saturday.

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