When Henry Metzler showed up at the giant gravel pit in Britannia Beach at 7:30 a.m. on Thursday (Aug. 7), there was already a lineup of 15 cars on Highway 99.听
They were quickly ushered into the 20-acre lot, known as the Makin Lands, to be processed by the Squamish Valley Music Festival for camping. By 9 a.m. the queue was 200-vehicles long, the Squamish resident said.听
鈥淭hey were cleared through in about 20 minutes,鈥� said Metlzer, the music festival鈥檚 operations manager for the Britannia Beach site.听
The organization for this year鈥檚 festival translated into a constant and steady flow of traffic without any major jams, said Tom Cloutier, Miller Capilano Maintenance Corporation鈥檚 division manager.听
鈥淭hey did a really good job,鈥� he said of the traffic management.
Sunday, Aug. 10, when superstar headliner rapper Eminem was performing, there were more vehicles on the road. The same went for Monday, Aug. 11, as festival-goers headed home. On Sunday, when volumes were heaviest, the vehicles never came to a standstill nor did the line into the festival鈥檚 camper check-in at Britannia cause concerns on the highway, Cloutier noted.听
鈥淚t didn鈥檛 get lined up further than the Furry Creek hill,鈥� he said.听
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The gravel pit had enough room to queue two-kilometres worth of vehicles, with the objective of leaving the main Sea to Sky Corridor traffic artery free from idlers, SVMF executive director Paul Runnals told the 劲爆大瓜 a week before the concert. Festival organizer鈥檚 equipment at the site processes 800 cars per hour.听
The majority of the campers arrived on Thursday at 3:30 p.m. At the beginning of the event, Genesis Security employee Mohammad Banaei said he was impressed with the organization.
鈥淚 heard it is going to be better than last year,鈥� he said. The majority of the vehicles were arriving with two or more people inside, he noted.
鈥淭he cars are full with camping stuff and tents.鈥�
