This is one in a series of special 91原创 Advance Times stories about what to expect at this year鈥檚 91原创 Good Times Cruise-In, happen Saturday, Sept. 9 in Aldergrove. You can also check out this series in our special keepsake edition hitting the streets on Thursday and available in limited quantity at the car show.
.
The addition of shuttles and an extra 120 parking spots should help tens of thousands of spectators coming to 91原创 Good Times Cruise-In 2023.
The huge annual charity car show, set for Saturday, Sept. 9, is once again taking over downtown Aldergrove, and this year organizers want to make it easier than ever to get in.
As it turns out, it鈥檚 Cruise-In director Holly Trytko鈥檚 job to get people into the show as safely and efficiently as possible, so spectators can simply focus on admiring all the classic, custom, and collectors cars on display, and taking in all the other attractions the event has to offer.
With close to 20 year of experience in the industry 鈥� as a traffic control person and more recently as a traffic planner 鈥� it is her job to focus on traffic flow for Cruise-In.
Most of her duties happen months ahead of the show: getting necessary road closure permissions, arranging for traffic detours, connecting with agencies such as TransLink and Coast Mountain to reroute buses, and coordinating sites for traffic control personnel.
One of her key tasks is arranging closure of Fraser Highway, between 264th and 272nd Streets for the full day. Once that鈥檚 approved, then the rest, she said, tends to fall into place.
Simply put, with the eight-block stretch of Fraser Highway blocked, downtown traffic is being detoured north on 32nd Avenue or south along 29th Avenue, Trytko explained.
Truck traffic is again being moved to 16th Avenue.
By shutting down the traffic lights at the main intersections along 264th and 272nd Streets, traffic control people will take over responsibility for directing motorists and preventing some of the bottlenecks that arose in past, said Trytko. This system was in place for the 2022 show, and it worked well.
She recommends those driving to Cruise-In still come in along Fraser Highway, and follow the directions of traffic control staff.
Further, she recommends people get there early 鈥� especially if they don鈥檛 want to pay (or make a donation) for parking.
There will be paid parking lots set up this year at on shool and one church.
Aldergrove Community Secondary鈥檚 parking lot, 26850 29th Ave., will again serve as the early-morning staging area for participating cars 鈥� where the registered display vehicles marshal before being moved into place along the main drag.
When all the display vehicles are moved into their spots, around 9 to 9:30 a.m., that parking lot will be turned over to the school, Cruise-In president Riccardo Sestito said. They will then allow public parking by donation to the school鈥檚 dry grad effort and PAC.
And new this year, St. Dunstan鈥檚 Anglican Church, at 3025 264th St., is opening up about 120 spots, starting at 7 a.m. for a minimum donation of $10 to the church, Sestito added.
Also new for 2023, 91原创 Chrysler is providing free shuttle service.
91原创 Chrysler鈥檚 courtesy shuttle vans will travel back and forth from the designated parking areas to a drop-off point behind the main stage 鈥� at 270th Street and Fraser Highway 鈥� as frequent as possible between 8 a.m. and the end of the show, the president elaborated.
Designated vendor parking has also been set up at Phil Jackman Park, 27130 32nd Ave., and area merchants are being provided with parking permits to ensure access to their shops.
Sestito expects spectators will quickly fill up much of the free on-street parking around the core, but he advises motorists to abide by the signs to prevent being towed. He said that warning extends to the parking lot for Aldergrove Credit Union Community Centre, which is expected to have parking enforcement throughout the day.
.
