If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
That’s the attitude organizers of the Langley Good Times Cruise-In have towards their parking plan, after they worked out the kinks last year.
Those who attended last year will find very few differences this time – the same gates, the same roads closed for the Sept. 7 car show, and for the most part, the same areas put aside for parking.
The Cruise-In will see Fraser Highway closed between 264th Street and 272nd, but both of those roads will still be open to north-south driving traffic throughout the day.
In between, short sections of roads leading to Fraser Highway will be closed off for the day, with traffic control volunteers or crews from Valley Traffic present.
When the Cruise-In moved to Aldergrove for the first time a few years ago from its longtime home in Langley City, it took a while to work out the kinks. But Cruise-In president Wayne Patterson said they’ve got things straightened out, between experience and working with Langley Township.
Those coming to show their cars will enter from 264th or 272nd, although there are a series of other gates along the edges of the closed area.
For those coming to check out the location, there are a number of parking options:
• Aldergrove Athletic Park & School at 29th Avenue has room for 450 vehicles
• Philip Jackman Park at 32nd Avenue has room for 200 cars
• An all-weather gravel field at Aldergrove Athletic Park at 269th Street will be opened up for parking and has room for more than 300 cars
• Pay parking (all proceeds go towards the Cruise-In’s charities) will be available at the old Aldergrove Mall for $5 per vehicle
There are a few local residents for whom Cruise-In means a lack of access to their driveways – a small number of homes exit directly onto Fraser Highway.
All those residents have been notified with mailouts and info cards dropped off at their homes, Patterson said.
“They’re usually pretty good,” he said of the attitudes of the local residents.
Many of them simply park their cars for the night on nearby side streets. Some have barbecues and invite their friends over for the day amid the Cruise-In celebrations taking place just past their front yards.
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