BottleRock: World-Class Music Fest Draws Concerns Over Traffic, Parking, Security

Parking, traffic and security were the top concerns voiced by neighbors of the upcoming BottleRock Napa Valley music festival at a meeting Monday at the Napa Valley Expo, the event site.

Up to 35,000 people could attend the inaugural event, set for May 8 through 12.

"There's some frustration here," said Patty Curtan, one of about 300 neighboring residents at Monday's meeting. "We're several hundred families living at ground zero -- and we're paying the price for this.

"Buses, fumes, trash, traffic, behavior, noise, people -- all of that," Curtan added. "No one asked us about this; we just have to put up with it."

For two hours, BottleRock co-founder Gabe Meyers and his team offered information, listened to complaints and answered questions before residents of the surrounding Juarez, Alta Heights and Fairview neighborhoods.

Meyers said they are engaging a full roster of resources to manage the crowds, including:

--1,000 volunteer "ambassadors" to guide foot traffic to and from the Expo.

--Napa Police, Napa Sheriff's deputies and California Highway Patrol officers inside the Expo, outside on the streets and at intersections;

--12,000 parking spaces -- 8,400 of which will be at Napa Pipe and the rest at leased lots downtown;

-- A 24-hour security command and dispatch center with hotlines that residents may call if there are problems with concert-goers. (707-301-7853; 707-365-7059);

--Shuttle buses and Napa Valley Vine buses to transport attendees from Napa Pipe and other park and ride locations.

--No amplified music after 10 p.m.

"There won't be zero impact, but we hope to mitigate the impact as much as possible," Meyers said.

The city of Napa is sponsoring a second neighborhood meeting at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, April 17 at the same location as Monday night -- Chardonnay Hall at the Expo Center.

On Monday, site operations manager Kohn Dwight presented the logistics of road closures that will occur as people arrive early in the day and depart at the end of the concerts between about 9 and 11 p.m.

Except for Wednesday, May 8, which is a limited schedule concert, the full days on Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, May 9-12, will begin at 11 a.m. and end at 10 p.m. Partial road closures will be in place starting at 9 a.m. those days, with full road closures in place during the evening departures between 9 to 11 p.m.

Affected streets include, among others:  Bailey Street, Juarez Street, Soscol Avenue, Burnell Street, Third Street, Silverado Trail.

"I've been in the entertainment business for 38 years -- I've seen it all," one man told Meyers during the question and answer period. "It never goes smoothly, ever.

"You are going to have a dramatic impact on three neighborhoods," he said. "I wish you well. Good luck."

Other concerns included: access to neighborhood businesses; being able to get in and out of their homes; concert-goers parking in their driveways; security at neighborhood schools, such as Oxbow Public School; motor homes or RVs parking on the street during the festival; and permits for friends and family members to visit -- especially on Sunday, Mother's Day.

"I've endured the Napa County Fair (at the Expo) every year," said a Juarez Street resident. "The city won't clean up afterwards until we have to go ask them to clean it up."

Dwight said two trash management firms have been engaged for BottleRock -- one for inside the Expo and the other for the neighboring streets.

"What's in it for us as locals?" ased Tom Ruth. "Are you going to comp us tickets?"

Meyers said the entire Napa economy is expected to benefit from the visitors' influx of cash -- possibly by as much as $1,000 per attendee.

"And there may be some people who will get some enjoyment from having a world-class musical festival in their town," Meyers added. Meyers did hand out comp tickets for residents at the end of the meeting for Thursday's show --locals night.

WillPower Entertainment, is a for-profit venture, much of the money generated by BottleRock will go to local nonprofits, including Land Trust of Napa County, Napa Parks and Recreation, Downtown Napa Merchants Association and numerous others, Meyers said. The goal is to raise up to $1 million for local nonprofits, he said.

A portion of the WillPower Entertainment profits will also benefit autism research, in support of Vogt's son Will, who suffers from autism.

"We want to generate more empathy and more sympathy, not less," Meyers said.

Some residents at the meeting said they were excited by BottleRock.

"We'll get through this and it's going to be an absolute blast," said Scot Norton. 

He said and his wife Jackie Norton are big fans of the Zach Brown Band -- one of the BottleRock headliners. The couple have purchased eight tickets for themselves and friends -- and they plan to reserve neighborhood parking spaces using their own cars.

"We're used to traveling down to Coachella or Stagecoach (music festivals)," Norton said. "This is so fabulous -- they're coming to us."

Mary Baracco agreed.

"I wish we could embrace this as something in our community where the world was coming to us, instead of some sort of tremendous liability," she said. "For the amount of effort it takes to be negative, it takes the same amount to be positive."

Eighty bands will play at BottleRock and 15 comedians will entertain between sets. Some 40 wineries and 30 area restaurants will offer refreshments, not including the "after-parties" expected in the Napa downtown area.

For more details, see www.bottlerocknapavalley.com.

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