Editor’s note: This story has been corrected to show that Bridgeton Road will be restricted to pedestrian traffic only.
PARKE COUNTY, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV) – Parke County Commissioners have approved a new traffic plan to help ensure the safety of everyone who attends the Covered Bridge Festival.
A committee was previously put together under Parke County Commissioner Dan Collom to develop a plan regarding traffic at the festival.
According to Parke County Commissioner Jim Meece, they approved the plan at a meeting last month.
Meece said the plan is to make the Bridgeton Road, which Meece referred to as the main street, in Bridgeton accessible to pedestrian traffic only from 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. during the 10 days of Covered Bridge.
“There will be barricades up and two of the barricades will be manned at all times with a moving barrier so if somebody has to get through, first responders, fire trucks, they can get through without any difficulty at all so they should not be held up at all,” Meece said.
He said everyone will still have access to their homes. Meece added everyone will still have access to the parking lots, you’ll just have to take a different way to get there.
“It’s going to be a change for some folks, all of the parking lots will have access to them still, they’ll just go in a different street. They’ll go on a different street. You’ll go about a block off of main street to another street and [make] the pass through town that way,” Meece said.
Meece asks for everyone’s patience as county leaders maneuver this new plan.
“It’s going to have to be evaluated at the end of the year. Anything new is a challenge to begin with and it’s not going to be perfect of course, you can’t really foresee everything,” Meece said.
This year’s Covered Bridge Festival will take place from October 13-22.
