Foxtown Parking Lots Not Open During 2010 Fireworks!?

Some of you might remember the pictures I took last year [[2009)from my apartment overlooking the Foxtown Parking Desert [[Northwest Downtown and Southwest Midtown), and the several hour traffic jams that ensued.

Oddly, none of the Foxtown lots appeared to be open for parking during the 2010 fireworks, why? They were all empty, while the ungated non-Olympia lots were packed.

Oddly, riding the People Mover, it was clear that there were plenty of empty spaces at several downtown garages. I am not sure what the going rate was at those garages.

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[[Above) The Foxtown Parking Desert. Most of these lots were completely empty when we departed for the 2010 fireworks at 9:00pm.

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[[Above) Close up of Midtown and "cars as far as the eye could see, from the upper stories of North Downtown Detroit during the fireworks in 2009.

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[[Above) Note that several lots in these pictures were still unused, as demolition of several buildings was not yet finished in 2009.

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[[Above) A traffic jam on Grand River

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The parking lot in front of the G.A.R. "Castle" is not Olympia owned, and was open in 2010.

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[[Above) The amazing six way Grand River and Cass Intersection traffic jam. Many Metro Detroiters did not know what to do in traffic circles, urban radial street grids, and six way intersections back in 2009.

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[[Above) Detroit City traffic on Grand River and Cass fades off into the horizon.

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Even after Grand River turned back into a one way street, it took another hour to fully clear them out of the C.B.D..

There was still momentary gridlock in 2010, but it cleared up very quickly without the Foxtown lots open.

How was the weather for the event? I always did my best to go to the fireworks, definitely an incredible experience no matter what side of the river.

It was windy. The smoke cleared downtown in about 5 minutes.