Accessible Parking at Airventure

[Inspector Fenwick]

I am posting for a friend who, along with his wife, has mobility issues and they are heading to Airventure for the first time this year. Their question is what is the best time to arrive at the vehicle parking area to secure a handicap cap space. They seem to be comfortable with the other aspects of tram travel, but they do need the proximity of an accessible space. Any suggestions? Thanks.

[Airmutt]

The Blue Lot just outside the main gate has handicapped parking. To my knowledge and what I’ve observed over the years it rarely fills up. AV is really a one way in one way out setup. If you’re not in the Blue Lot by around 0800 you’re gonna sit in line. It’s even worse on the days any military demo team flies.

[Joda]

See the article at this link for updates to parking and traffic flow at the 2020 convention:

https://www.eaa.org/airventure/plan-your-eaa-airventure-trip/AirVenture-Site-Changes?mkt_tok=eyJpIjoiWXpWa05UVTBOakV6WkdReiIsIn QiOiJaVVVhWGQzSHVYYTJtekRlcHg0VGRJRW0rdkxnbG0zejhV dTNTMndHQUM1aHVmYkU5OG05MlFNa2hycXdrMkpWaWtpbDYzVV hzMm4zMGY5b284UU1Rdz09In0%3D

[CHICAGORANDY]

Joe - no more Green tram beteween the Tower and the Bus Park? Has Lot F been relocated or just erased?

[PaulDow]

So everyone except vendors, handicapped and VIP permit holders will need to walk to take a bus to walk to get to the entrance since the blue lot isn’t for the general public. That’s going to put a huge load on the museum bus line.

it looks like the price to park has gone up 50% to $15. They really should look at accepting credit cards or EZ Pass if it’s going to be that expensive so they can move cars in quicker.
It looks like the Green tram is gone. It may be time for that monorail.

Edit:
I went on Google Earth to plot out some estimated distances. It looks like the longest parked car to entrance gate distance is about 6,900' from the far point of Pink. Just the walk from the center of Pink to pick up the museum bus is about 2,300'.
The center of the bus park to the main gate is about 1,000' too. Using the school bus is only about a 3000' ride.
Distance from the entrance to convention center is about 2,200'.

As a comparison, the farthest point from the Disney World EPCOT parking lot to the main entrance is about 2,700', and they have trams. They do hit you for $25/day there, but you can pay with a card.

[Joda]

Joe - no more Green tram beteween the Tower and the Bus Park? Has Lot F been relocated or just erased?

Randy,

Yes, the "Green" route has been eliminated.

The E, F, M and W parking lots have been eliminated. What used to be the "Blue" lot is now the "D" lot, and much of the parking from the eliminated lots will be moved there.

[Airmutt]

Elimination of the Red Lot for permit parking hurt.
Elimination of the Orange Lot for vendor parking really hurt.
Elimination of the Blue Lot for permit parking just plain sucks.

Gotta keep the VIPs and aviation elite happy. As for the run-of-the-mill dues paying, pay to park members y’all get park out on 41. Well at least this decision pairs well with raising the airplane raffle to $100 per ticket.

[CHICAGORANDY]

Randy,

Yes, the "Green" route has been eliminated.

The E, F, M and W parking lots have been eliminated. What used to be the "Blue" lot is now the "D" lot, and much of the parking from the eliminated lots will be moved there.

So.. Yellow is now a Two Stops between turn-arounds and then get off route? And hike it to the Bus Park for all? And wait in long slow lines for a slow loading/unloading school bus to and from a distant parking lot? It needs more study and reflection on MY part, but it does make me question the value of the results from that college driven traffic 'survey' right off the bat. That and those of us tram volunteers who get sentenced to the Blue route should pack a lunch - lol - that is going to be one long haul.

Oh, Purple AND Red going North, depending on the clock, not the need - that won't be at ALL confusing to our guests..... and tractor drivers - LOL - think about it.... how many attendees are going to be stranded at tram stops way out there in HBC West side, waiting for a ride that isn't coming because the colors are in transition?
Understand that Purple will take a good 1/2 hour to run start to finish. maybe even longer. Either service an area with people movers... or don't. You can't effectively just service a destination "sometimes" during the day. IMHO....but nobody asked me - LOL

[CHICAGORANDY]

When I am crowned Emperor of Trams - LOL - there will simply be NO limited service Red route. Purple will run all day long to avoid any conflicts, angry passengers or confusions. I will then rename Purple and call it the Red route.

[skyfixer8]

Randy, I bet that all this is still preliminary planning and maybe someone in charge will look at it harder based on this thread. Nothing at Oshkosh is ever written in stone, especially during Airventure. Gotta be flexible.

[CHICAGORANDY]

No doubt. Lord knows I am not privy to the internal machinations surrounding shuttle operations. But like so many things in life, sometimes the decision/policy makers neglect to include the 'implementers' as part of the process and sometimes needless chaos results. If a dope like me already sees areas of conflict and confusion in these new changes, imagine the improvements smart people who actually operate trams and school buses might rather see done.

My best analogy is many times the folks who design and market automobiles rarely consult the poor schlubbs who will need to change an oil filter, spark plugs or perform other maintenance down the road. Only when the repairs are needed is it discovered how difficult/impossible it is to perform.

[skyfixer8]

Randy, you were talking about traffic jams in Vintage area. Just found from Gene, no stops on Vern. I bet Vintage folks will say something about that. Long walk from Hanger Cafe to Vintage or Scholler to Vintage. All other stops remain same.

[CHICAGORANDY]

Actually I was thinking about the people waiting in the roadway for the Northbound Yellow in front of Hangar B.

NO stop at the Vintage HQ/Boeing Plaza before the turn South? My opinion is that is ill advised and potentially dangerous. IMHO - note IMHO - I worry that ALL the trams WILL have folks para-jumping off moving trams left & right at that corner slow turn. First they cancel the popular Green tram and now No stop at the VERY popular Boeing Plaza stop? I'm starting to get less and less impressed with the 'quality' of that transportation survey from Northwestern.

Hopefully wiser heads will prevail before AirVenture starts up?

[Tom Steber]

I'm not sure why I missed this thread, but I just found out about the "Blue Lot" parking yesterday. I drive back and forth everyday for the convention. Always get there early in the morning. Been parking in the Blue Lot for most of the 50 years I've been attending. I don't relish the thought of now having to walk from the museum to the main gate every day. Or having to wait on a tram to get me there. I know, I know. I want what I want!!!
Hopefully they'll look into making some more adjustments to the parking before 2021.

[hatz672]

Yup. As soon as I saw they hired "consultants" to come up with a plan, I knew we were screwed. Waiting for next year to see what parking situation will be for the spot I volunteer at all week. If they expect me to get there on foot from general parking, spend the day working and then walk back out, that'll be the end of me volunteering. As far as the airplane raffle goes, the problem was allowing people to enter without a contribution. I guess I was being naive, but would never have guessed there were so many deadbeats. I don't know who decided the $100 per entry thing was a great idea, but the explanation didn't sell me. They can take the raffle and shove it.

[FlyingRon]

The problem is they want to disguise the ticket sales as being tax deductible. If a fee is required to enter, no matter what you call it, it is not tax deductible.

[krw920]

The problem is they want to disguise the ticket sales as being tax deductible. If a fee is required to enter, no matter what you call it, it is not tax deductible.

The prior plane give away was a sweepstakes, no $ to enter, unlimited entries, any money given was a donation and tax deductible. The new give away was a raffle, fixed amount of tickets sold at a fixed amount, so not a contribution, so not deductible.