Game Traffic

Traffic problem solved:

Leave the game when the clock hits triple 0s. Calmly walk back to your vehicle. Open the doors to the truck, turn on the post game show on the radio, drop the tailgate, grab a cold one, and hang out until traffic is flowing nicely. That's what we do. Traffic is never an issue for us.

Why is it so bad exactly? I’ve been to 9-10 SEC venues as well as semifinals and national championships. NOTHING is as bad as traffic after an LSU football game. It makes no sense really how awful it is compared to literally everyone else.

There are probably some % of the leaving early crowd that do so because of traffic. But that is the minority. 30 years ago Tiger Stadium held 80,000 people. So it's not as if the stadium suddenly went from 15k people in one area to 100k creating a traffic mess that previously never existed. Yet, 30 years ago leaving early wasn't a huge issue. Why?

1. 30 years ago tailgating wasn't as big as it is now. Yes, you had tailgates. But pretty much everyone that was tailgating was going to the game. Now, for many, the tailgate is the actual event. Not the game. Some don't even go to the game (yet they take up space and add to congestion on campus). Some go to the game but leave soon thereafter because they want to get back to the tailgate and party more. The game is almost an inconvenience rather than the "event".

2. Every game is on TV now. 30-40 years ago maybe 1/2 (or slightly more) of the games were on TV. Thus, if you wanted to see all of the action you had to stay at the game. Now, you can leave at HT and get home to watch the entire second half (if you are recording the game) from the comfort of your home without missing a thing.

3. Cell phones. When I first started going to games no one had cell phones on their person. So the way things usually went was I'd get to campus a few hours early and meet at the tailgate with a group friends. Everyone had tickets to the game, but not everyone sat near one another. That included sometimes the people with whom you carpooled to the game. Plans had to be made BEFORE going into the stadium. Those plans often consisted of "we'll meet (here) after the game". Because we had no cell phones we couldn't text/call one another during the game to to say "hey, you want to leave early to go ____?" You also couldn't call/text anyone who didn't go to the game to see if what they were doing may be a better option. You had to stay throughout the game or risk being at the meeting place alone for a long period of time if you decided to leave early. So you just stayed until the end. It was better than leaving early and having no one to meet.

In order to "beat" the traffic I leave after the pre game salute . I do run into those trying to get seated. But once in the parking lot it is smooth sailing to I10. Home by 1/2 time. No line at the bathroom and cold beer on hand.

This does not appear to be changing anytime soon. Your alternative is to search out strategically the most time efficient way out of campus. I have been going to games for 40 years and have honed in on the best parking / tailgate location that fits me. I am 30 minutes max getting off campus to I-10. If you keep parking in the hayfield / levee lots you will continue to get the same terrible results. Move about and find the place that works for you.

The problem is that people are in such a hurry to leave and be somewhere else they don't want to enjoy the moment.

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CBK’s concern about fans leaving early is legit. Until the horrendous traffic is resolved, people will leave early. Not sure how much effort/$ has been invested, but it seems like a good traffic engineering firm could figure this out, which may include building/improving roads. But BRPD would still need to implement and they’re a joke in every way.

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It's dysfunctional Baton Rouge, located in dysfunctional Louisiana.

This problem will never be corrected, even though there ARE solutions and fixes.

There needs to be a 8-16 lane Super Highway running from 1-10 to the Campus. Raze the "Third World Country" north of campus on Highland Road and build it. Build it and they will stay.........