FMF - Friends of Minerals Forum, discussion and message board

[bob kerr]

I was down at the Tucson HTCC today (aka Inn Suites) and the large dirt parking lot is under construction and walled/gated off from the hotel - it will definitely not be available for dealer or patron parking this year. see photos

the woman at the front desk said that there will be parking available at the school north of st Mary's road but if you look at google earth at this area you can see that parking will be quite limited and there will be a good walk over to the HTCC.

it's going to be an interesting challenge.

bob

[Turbo]

Where are the lots they run busses to?

[alfredo]

Of course the hotel itself has parking spaces, and so if the show staff remain resolute about making the resident dealers park off-site, leaving all the hotel's spaces for customers, that will take care of some of the problem.

Tucson benefits to some degree from the ever-lengthening show dates, with lots of dealers being open for almost three weeks now, so spreading visits out over more days also alleviates some of the pressure on parking.

I'm sure it will be a challenge on some of the peak dates, but it won't be the disaster that some (often organizers of competing show venues) are predicting.

[vic rzonca]

All parking around the hotel during show hours will be for customers only. All dealers are to use the satellite lots during show hours so as to leave the hotel spaces for patrons. The wall around the hotel was there last year and posed some inconvenience and the new construction in the dirt lot this year will present some challenges. There still are hundreds of the best dealers in the world at TCC and Inn Suites, as in years past, and access to them is made easier by the shuttles that run from show to show as usual. Again, the parking around the hotel is for the public, so please come and see us there, we plan for a great show. Safe travels to all. Yours Truly, the parking staff.

[John S. White]

Scary looking staff!

[Turbo]

HTCC is my favorite stop, good parking or no, I will be there.

[bob kerr]

[alfredo]

There is one other exit from the hotel on the south (downtown) side (and there's even one block of street parking by that exit), so it's not entirely bottlenecked to the main entrance/exit.

[vic rzonca]

Alfredo is correct. Keep in mind that it always was free parking and patrons used it as a staging lot to get the shuttles to go elsewhere, so it always filled up fast. Access to and around the hotel was a one way traffic pattern and that basic pattern has not changed. There is access from Saint Marys, an entrance and exit from Granada Ave., and an exit to surface streets on the south east corner of the East hotel lot as Alfredo mentioned. I'm pretty sure there wasn't another free parking lot in Tucson, and as I used to say when folks got rude about the parking, "It's free parking, not unlimited parking". After all, it is the largest mineral show on earth. Lets compare and contrast other shows and lots. Some are better and some are worse. Patience is a virtue, And I am open to suggestions. “He that can have patience can have what he will.”
― Benjamin Franklin

"There still are hundreds of the best dealers in the world at TCC and Inn Suites", should be "HTCC and Inn Suites".

[bob kerr]

[bob kerr]

[vic rzonca]

AND LETS EVERYONE KNOW ABOUT THEM.
Hard to tell if everyone can be informed. We will do our best. I think our own situational awareness will serve us well, since we cannot predict every modality, and Tucson is a very dynamic situation. The Saint Marys entrance is in the works. The congestion push out to Granada will no doubt be a pinch point. The one in, one out is a good point, and has been used as best as we could in the past, usually to great consternation. Hopefully this discussion will take some of the surprise out of your visit. Thanks for the input, I do appreciate it. If anyone will have a brilliant idea, it will be the enthusiasts here.

[Jesse Fisher]

“He that can have patience can have what he will.”

Vic - as one of the HTCC show "traffic cops" I hope you are stocking up on good supply of patience. I suspect you will need it!

[vic rzonca]

With my reduced staff Jesse, I may be seen as the "only" traffic cop. Gods help us!

[Tony L. Potucek]

Vic, if you look very closely in your photo of traffic chaos, you can see the rolling bar with a load of selected patience awaiting delivery to the HTCC area. See you soon, pard!

tlp