FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FRIDAY, OCT. 2, 2009
| CONTACT: | Mike Pleasant, assistant manager N.C. State Fair (919) 839-4503 |
Take the train or ride the bus to the N.C. State Fair
RALEIGH — Leave the car behind and take one of several alternative transportation options to the N.C. State Fair. Visitors are strongly encouraged to take advantage of these gas- and time-saving opportunities. For every bus ticket purchased, fairgoers will receive a $10 coupon book good at any Subway restaurant, while supplies last.
Capital Area Transit service to take detour around Hillsborough Street construction
In downtown Raleigh, look for the blue State Fair signs to catch a Capital Area Transit shuttle along Edenton, Morgan and Hillsborough streets. To avoid Hillsborough Street construction zones, the shuttle will make a detour at Oberlin Road, turn left on Clark Avenue, and then take Brooks Road back to Hillsborough Street to continue its route to the fairgrounds. Shuttle stops along the detour route will be marked with blue State Fair signs. The shuttles will run from 1 p.m. to midnight Oct. 15 and from 7 a.m. until midnight Oct. 16-25.
Capital Area Transit will also offer two park-and-ride locations: at the ITB Holdings Building at the corner of Wake Forest and Six Forks roads in Raleigh, just south of the Interstate 440 Beltline, and at the WakeMed Soccer Park, exit 291 off Interstate 40 in Cary. The North Raleigh and Cary shuttles will operate every 20 to 30 minutes each day of the Fair from 8:30 a.m. to midnight. The exception is Thursday, Oct. 15, when shuttles will run from 1 p.m. to midnight.
Follow the green State Fair signs to the North Raleigh and Cary park-and-ride locations.
Fare for all CAT bus services is $4 per person round-trip. Exact change is required. Seniors age 65 and older and persons with disabilities pay $2 round-trip. Children under 40 inches tall ride free with a paying adult. All CAT passengers will be dropped off and picked up at Gate 1 of the State Fairgrounds.
Durham Area Transit service to State Fair
The Durham Area Transit Authority will offer shuttles from the downtown Durham Station, located at 515 W. Pettigrew St., on the hour from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. each day, except Sundays when service will run from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Regular fare is $2 round-trip. The TRANSPASS and GoPass agreements do not include State Fair service, but a discounted round-trip fare of $1 is available for riders with a DATA ID or Medicare card. Senior citizens ages 65 and older and children ages 12 and younger and under 60 inches tall ride free. DATA will drop off and pick up near Gate B of Carter-Finley Stadium.
Triangle Transit offers weekend bus service to fairgrounds
On Saturdays and Sundays, Triangle Transit will offer Express bus service from the Eubanks Road park-and-ride lot, located in northern Chapel Hill, one-half mile west of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard/N.C. Highway 86, and from the Triangle Transit Regional Transit Center, located at 6 Park Drive in Research Triangle Park, near the intersection of Davis Drive and N.C. Highway 54.
The Eubanks Road park-and-ride shuttle will depart on the hour from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturdays and from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sundays. Service from the Regional Transit Center will depart every 30 minutes from 9:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Saturdays and from 11:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Sundays. Fare is $5 per person round-trip. Seniors age 65 and older and persons with disabilities are $2.50 round-trip, and children 12 and under ride free. Triangle Transit will drop off and pick up at Gate B of Carter-Finley Stadium.
Amtrak delivers to fairgrounds
Fairgoers west of the Triangle can also catch the Amtrak Carolinian. The Northbound Carolinian (train No. 80) leaves Charlotte at 7:40 a.m., with stops in Kannapolis, Salisbury, High Point, Greensboro, Burlington, Durham, Cary, State Fairgrounds and Raleigh. The train will arrive at the Blue Ridge Road stop directly across from the fairgrounds at about 10:50 a.m. The Southbound Carolinian (train No. 79) departs from the fairgrounds for the return trip at 4:57 p.m. To make reservations, visit www.bytrain.org or call 1-800-USA-RAIL and use fare code NSF.
Visitors driving to the State Fair are encouraged to take Wade Avenue to the Edwards Mill Extension and park in the free parking lots at Carter-Finley Stadium and the RBC Center. These lots will be available every day of the Fair. Parking is free in state-owned lots.
For more information about transportation and parking, visit www.ncstatefair.org.
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