Going to outdoor concerts in the summer and fall is supposed to be fun. While the concert itself is delightful, the parking lot of an amphitheater ruins the entire night.
Entering the parking lot, which is normally a wide field of grass, is the smoothest part of the entire day. Workers are guiding you to the right spot and making sure that you do not run into another car on your way to a spot.
Signs are also posted around the area so drivers know where they are heading as they drive into the lot. Sometimes venues even offer a map of the parking area up on their website for those who want to be extra prepared.
However, the real pain begins the second the concert ends and everyone floods the parking lot.
As everyone wanders the lot trying to find their cars, people are flashing their lights and sounding alarms, which can cause headaches for those sensitive to light and loud noises.
Once groups have made it to their cars, it is a rush to get out of the lot. One would assume that the way out would be just as organized as the way in, but that is not the case for most venues.
At some venues, no workers are found in the lot area, only at the main road once everyone is out. That leaves all the impatient concertgoers to try and find their way out of the lot with only a few lights guiding them.
Often, this leads to cars going in every direction with people forgetting the rules of the road. You are supposed to zipper people, not cut everyone off because you feel like you are more important than everyone else.
During the craze of people trying to leave, close calls and impatient arguing may begin. When leaving concerts, it is not uncommon for people to drive too close to each other, which could result in a wreck if drivers are not careful.
If the weather is bad, it is a whole other nightmare. In lots that are all grass, mud is created, leading to cars getting stuck.
At the Noah Kahan Alpine Valley Music Theater disaster of July 13, cars sank so deep in mud that drivers and passengers from other cars had to get out and help push.
But the drivers who had never been stuck in mud before had no clue what to do. As they were being pushed, they would floor the gas and almost ram into the drivers around them. And, of course, there was no security nearby to help.
If there were actual guides to help drivers and people remember the rules of the road, then maybe amphitheater parking wouldn’t be so bad. But for now, it remains as one of the worst places on this Earth.
