Published: July 01, 2009 10:24 pm      

City sets parking plans for fireworks show

The annual city fireworks show at the Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center is a favorite Fourth of July tradition loved by hundreds, if not thousands.

Trying to get out of the parking lot and down the road when the show’s over, however, doesn’t leave a fond memory.

The City of Athens wants to do something about that.

A pair of traffic diversions will be put in place as patrons leave the show Saturday.

Those diversions are intended to cut down on delays created when hundreds of vehicles try to leave via Farm-to-Market Road 2495, which fronts the fisheries center.

“We want to work as quickly as we can to get everybody out of there,” Athens Police Chief Buddy Hill said. “We’re hoping to give people advance notice about what to expect so hopefully we can keep aggravation levels down.”

While Hill said motorists should expect delays as they try to leave the show, he added that the diversions should keep the traffic flow moving.

Here’s the city’s exit strategy for motorists leaving the show:

• Anyone who parked on the grounds of the fisheries center will exit on Farm-to-Market Road 2495 to the right. Those drivers will then be able to take FM 317 (Leagueville Highway) back toward State Highway 31 in Athens.

• Those who park in the overflow lot to the southwest of the fisheries center will take Marina Road to FM 2495, where they will turn left toward town.

• The portion of FM 2495 beginning and Peninsula Point and ending near the entrance to the fisheries center will be closed to ensure the safety of the officers working traffic control.

Traffic on Peninsula Point will be limited to those who have a specific destination, Hill said.

The fireworks show traditionally begins around dark, about 9:15 p.m.