Beating the rush: How to leave Bomber games without the traffic jam.

[jets4life]

Do not ask me how I know this. I just do.

Many fans enjoy our Big Blue. The games can be a thrill. However, one thing is annoying as hell- getting caught in traffic once the game ends. Chancellor Matheson is crazy. University Crescent is under construction, and I am not sure if one can even leave northbound from the stadium.

Fear not, Bomber fans, I have found the way to get out of Bomber games quickly.

If you can access Freedman Drive, be sure to go down Kings Drive south. From there, you ahve ooptions:

1. If you must drive northbound on Pembina, you will want to turn on to Silverstone from Kings Drive. Head Westbound, until the street ends at Dalhousie. From there, make a right, and it will take you to Pembina. I hope this helps to beat the traffic.

2. If you are in an area that you can bypass going north on Pembina, this will come in handy. Use the same route, but turn left on Dalhousie. Then when you get to Killarney, turn Westbound. Then go south on Pembina until you hit the Perimeter. This will come in handy for all our friends in West Winnipeg, St.Vital, St.B, Transcona, etc.

3. If you must avoid Pembina, just keep going southbound on Kings, until it turns into Kilkenny. Keep going south, under the Perimeter Bridge, then follow Cloutier Drive, until it ends at Pembina/Perimeter cloverleaf. This will insure you get to the Perimeter, while pretty much avoiding Pembina highway.

Take it from me, as I have worked in traffic control. It will shave a significant amount of time when you leave the stadium.

[TecnoGenius]

1. Stay and play on the field.  It's great.  We never skip this.  If you stay until the end, by the time you get to your car all the traffic is gone.  You can also do some shopping in the Store (or both).

2. The Kilkenny trick is a good one.  However, sometimes enough people do it, and wait to turn left on Pembina at the lights, that it's real backed up even for people who just want to turn right to get to the perimeter (a yield turn lane would have been a good idea).

3. I'm pretty sure the Uni Crescent road work will never be done.  I think the city wants to punish the WPG fans: an evil sadistic plot.        Oh ya, and why are they always redoing it but never expand it to more lanes, which is what's required for a major sports stadium?

4. They let (force?) people to leave northbound onto Kings if you are coming from the east of the campus (the farthest lots).  If you are in the lots closer to the stadium I'm pretty sure you cannot leave that way, and are forced onto U crescent.  I know this because I walk past both choke points every time I leave the stadium.

5. They really do mean "traffic busters" when it comes to the on-field experience.  Last game, because everyone left with 6:00 left in the 4th, they gave people like half the normal time on the field before kicking them out.  I was a bit surprised.  Note to WFC: the field thing shouldn't just be for traffic, it should be sold and delivered as part of the game day experience.  Even if only 1 fan shows up to a game you need to keep the on field experience.  And the rest of the CFL needs to do this too.

[bunker]

The best way to beat the traffic is to cycle or walk. Obviously not for everyone though. Since I moved to old St. Vital, I cycle and its only 15-20 minutes to get home. I do miss listening to the post game show in my car, but catch it later on the cjob audio vault without all the endless commercials.

I cannot recall so many people leaving the game that early in a number of years. Hopefully not a trend.

[TecnoGenius]

I cannot recall so many people leaving the game that early in a number of years. Hopefully not a trend.

Ya, you might have to go back to Nichols years.  Even then, people weren't leaving en-masse like that with 8:00 then 6:00 left.

In the CFL you can make up 3 scores in 8:00 easily.  The fact that people were leaving in droves means they thought there was ZERO hope of a comeback.  As in it's not just the score differential, it's that they think we CANNOT score at all -- that we present ZERO threat to the opponent.

Guess they were right!             

[Blueforlife]

Back in the day at the old stadium I left early and came back after we made a game of it.  Classic.  I never leave early now.  Was pretty rare for me back in the day as well.  Old stadium we could rush the field and mingle with the players, was classic!

My buddies sister was dating Micheal Richardson, we would get free tickets.  Bombers beat I think Ottawa one game and my buddy walked off the field with Danny Barrett.  Core memories.  Mike was such a nice guy and awesome RB to boot.  Injuries slowed him down.

I got north to the perimeter, never a issue unless everyone stays late!

[TrueBlue75]

I leave via University Crescent, but for me the worst of it is getting out of the parking lot. First home game it was nearly 15 minutes before being able to pull out of the parking stall. Absolute gridlock. So the shortcuts wouldn't even help unfortunately.

[jets4life]

2. The Kilkenny trick is a good one.  However, sometimes enough people do it, and wait to turn left on Pembina at the lights, that it's real backed up even for people who just want to turn right to get to the perimeter (a yield turn lane would have been a good idea).

Just for added clarification, you may be thinking of Killarney.  Kilkenny is the road that turns into Kings Drive, at King's Park. Kilkenny pretty much follows the river, until to goes under the Perimeter bridge, and turns into Cloutier Drive, which takes you to the cloverleaf.

Killarney is the road that goes to Pembina. However, if Killarney is backed up, one can always just follow Dalhousie southbound, until it intersects Pembina at the McDonalds (Dalhousie is a rad in the shape of a semicircle that intersects Pembina twice).

[peg_city]

Take the bus. Can't recommend this enough.

[Jesse]

Bombers official park n' rides are the best. I live close to St. Vital, so we just park in the mall parking lot and hop on the bus.

[TecnoGenius]

Just for added clarification, you may be thinking of Killarney.  Kilkenny is the road that turns into Kings Drive, at King's Park. Kilkenny pretty much follows the river, until to goes under the Perimeter bridge, and turns into Cloutier Drive, which takes you to the cloverleaf.

Nope, I'm talking Kilkenny/Cloutier.  It takes you just before the cloverleaf.  And it lets people turn left.  Now that I think about it, maybe there is no lights (even worse!).

If enough people are trying to turn left then all the people trying to turn right have to wait FOREVER for them, as they wait for a break in the N-bound Pembina traffic.  I once waited there at least 10 mins behind maybe only 20 cars, just to turn right.

Cloutier should not allow a left turn: everyone should go right and left-turners can 2-leaf the clover.

It's still a good route when you've waited for traffic to clear, or if for some reason you can predict N-bound traffic will be dead.

If this was the states there'd be an on-ramp onto the perimeter from Kilkenny or Cloutier (no off-ramp so the neighbourhood can't whinge).

[TecnoGenius]

Take the bus. Can't recommend this enough.

Bombers park'n'ride is really well done.  Used it a ton.

But in the last couple of years, now that my kids can walk 2 clicks no problem, we drive there and use our secret parking spot 1.5km away.  We all like the walk.

Unfortunately, the route for the bus for the Downs (west side) people is still complete garbage.  Making them cross Bison on Pembina on game day is just dumb.  Ya, you get to the bus depot, but just that one intersection crossing can take as long as half the ride on the perimeter did.

Any bus coming from the perimeter should forget the depot and do Dalhousie/Kings and be allowed past the guards to drop everyone off in front of the tailgate on U.Crescent.  It would shave 15 mins (a very tedious 15) off the average trip there.

Lastly, bus people can't stay on the field very long post-game.  The 10 min call comes nearly immediately and you better believe them when they say it.  I go 3 mins after that call and I'm still panic running to catch the last Downs bus!

So we only use the bus these days for a really cold game (which we didn't even have last year!), one that warrants the ice-fishing boots. (knock wood)