I knew my luck was too good to be true.
Last year at Coachella, I only got stuck in traffic leaving for one night and that was for only 45 minutes or so and I’ve never been stuck in traffic going into the festival.
I even thought I hit the jackpot yesterday because I got a decent parking space where I could pull out and was closer to the exit, or so I thought.
I ended up sitting in traffic for two hours trying to leave, along with everyone else in lot 3. And by sitting in traffic I mean, not moving, and it got to the point where it was like the R.E.M. video for “Everybody Hurts” and getting out of their cars.
“I can’t believe this,” lamented Sean Rocca, of Newport Beach, incredulous at the jam since the festival is in its ninth run.
“They don’t have the logistics down?” he asked.
He figured it would have been quicker to walk the 3.5 miles to his parents’ house in La Quinta.
Others were annoyed, but said it wasn’t unexpected.
“This is typical. I think you accept it when you come here,” said Matt Hooker, of San Francisco, who was attending his second Coachella.
His friend, David Taylor, also of San Francisco, suggested that since the festival spends money on production of the shows, “they could afford to build a better road out here.”
The pair then amused themselves by making up rumors about why the traffic was so jammed, including an elaborate story which included a shattered gas tank (that part was true, the vehicle ran over something and cracked the tank, it was next to my car) and an alien being born out of it and getting revenge.
The real reason?
An officer from Indio PD said that departure traffic from three major lots were being put into one lane and much bottlenecking ensued.