Diagram showing parking lots for SunTrust Park
After five years of planning, campaigning, and backroom deal-making, SunTrust Park is finally ready for some baseball. The Braves open the park up this Friday in an exhibition against the New York Yankees before going on the road to start the regular season until their official opening day at home on April 14th.
Beyond the hazy gray-area that is building a new baseball stadium with taxpayer money without actually getting any input from said taxpayers, the two biggest concerns are parking and traffic. Are there enough spots? How congested will the already-congested Cumberland area get on game day? How will commuters and residents be effected? Well, we’re about to find out.
New entrance and exit ramps on both I-285 and I-75 should make it easier to get in and out of the area, and signs starting an exit away from the park will hopefully direct fans and prevent backups. Likewise pedestrian bridges over both highways allow fans to park in lots further away from the stadium and still have access.
With some 14,000 official spots to Turner Field’s mere 8,700, Braves officials seem confident that parking won’t be much of an issue once fans get used to the setup. The big difference there is that at SunTrust Field the lots are spread out all across the area, with only a couple exclusive parking decks available very close by. The rest of the lots will require up to a mile of walking or for fans to jump on one of the many shuttle buses that will be circling the stadium.
Looking at the map above, the Delta, Braves 9, and Braves 11 decks are for season ticket holders only and are the main decks in direct proximity to the stadium. The Red Deck, the closest one to the park, is for customers of The Battery and those with special Red Deck passes.
The rest of the lots are spread around SunTrust Park and are more easily accessible depending from which way fans are driving in. Many of the lots are up to a mile from the stadium. For reference it was about a mile from the Georgia State MARTA station to Turner, with a $2 MARTA ticket as opposed to the $18-20 for parking needed at SunTrust Park.
Another major gripe with the new park has been the lack of available public transportation. CobbLinc will provide bus service from certain MARTA stations and from areas further up in Cobb County, but without devoted lanes will be subject to the same traffic as everyone else.
At this point Braves officials and Braves critics have been set in their opinions for years as to how the team’s new home will handle Atlanta’s infamous traffic. With the plans set and opening day just around the corner, we’re about to see that argument settled.
