20th Most Favorite Thing About the State Fair of Texas: I No Longer Have To Drive There

Through my many years of happy State Fair attendance, I have never once, NOT EVER, been thrilled about the prospect of waiting in interminable traffic (sometimes backed all the way up to Central from I-30) to get to the shiny gates of Fair Park. I have NOT been happy to pay an arm and a leg to park all the way back in the farthest corner of a parking lot and then walk half a mile just to get inside the Fair (it does build up an appetite, but it’s also a buzzkill). I have NOT loved parting ways with TWO arms and a leg to use the more convenient valet parking on the northeast side of the fairgrounds. I have NOT enjoyed rolling my far-more-rotund self into a burning-up car at the end of a long day of walking and eating at the Fair. And I MOST CERTAINLY HAVE NOT enjoyed the fact that I always manage to get lost on my way from Fair Park back to I-30, because at that point, the only thing I want to be doing is wallowing on my couch, rubbing my newly-rounded tummy, letting my eyes glaze over as the inevitable sugar-crash hits.

In short, two of my LEAST FAVORITE things about the State Fair of Texas are driving there and driving home.

Which is why I am SO excited about the fact that the DART Green Line (including Fair Park Station) will be open for this year’s Fair. I know… I sound like a commercial for our transit system, so allow me to put this in purely selfish economic terms, terms that anyone with a stomach will understand:

$25.00 — Cost to valet park at the Fair

$10.00 — Cost to self-park at the Fair

$3.00 — Cost of a 1-Day Pass on DART ($1.50 for kids over 5, kids under 5 are free)

Basically, unless you are traveling with more than 3 1/2 people, you’re looking at a savings, which means MORE MONEY TO SPEND ON FOOD!

Seriously, though, I’m a big fan of riding the train into high-traffic, expensive parking situations. Concerts at American Airlines Center are so much more pleasant when you can grab a couple of drinks at Trinity Hall in advance, hop on the train at Mockingbird Station, and let someone else do the driving. Same for the way home. I’m headed to a concert at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington next month, and I’m already stressed about the fact that I will actually have to do a significant amount of pre-planning to navigate what will surely be a thrilling, frustrating, and costly traffic-and-parking situation (alas, no light rail to Arlington at this point).

Even the State Fair itself is excited about its new DART station. Just look at this year’s theme:

All aboard indeed. I would like to especially invite everyone heading to the Cotton Bowl for this year’s Red River Shootout (HOOK ‘EM!) to think about DART as a good alternative to waiting in a parking lot on Central and I-30 for hours prior to the game. Your stomachs will thank me when you actually find you have time before kickoff for a corn dog, turkey leg, and whatever fried products comprise your pre-game dining ritual.

Fair Park Station Photo courtesy of DART.

~ by nf1014 on September 6, 2009.