Minnesota Yacht Club pendulum commuters through Metro Transit Green Line Maintenance

It was a packed Harriet Island on Saturday evening – the second evening of the concerts for the Yacht Club Festival.

The organizers say that up to 35,000 concert goers saw groups such as Out Boy and Weezer.

“Very, very crowded,” says Mike Wagner from Wisconsin. “We went here last year. It is probably 25% more full than last year when we came here.”

We found a lot of people hiking in warm weather after parked in the city center or on the west side.

Others used a ride.

Carolyn Fisher from Ohio had a hooves with her family from her hotel.

“About 1.7 miles,” she said. “A nice, hot day.”

This massive concert donation was complicated on Friday, with all 13 of the Green Line Light Rail Stations closed in St. Paul.

“I think that's a bad timing,” explains Wagner. “You should have any option that you can do for a festival like this. We went yesterday and it was packed up to the gills.”

“Having the green line, which does not come from surrounding areas for commuters, seems to be an obstacle to get here to come here,” added Fisher. “The parking spaces on Harriet Island are minimal if there are some. So they will force more people to drive.”

The transit agency recognizes the trouble, but says that some tracks that caused delays every day had to be replaced and that repairs were required for devices to get the system going in the winter months.

And these schedules make it difficult to avoid big events.

“Every time we interfere with the Light Rail service, we affect people, whether they go to a festival, work, a school or another goal,” explains Drew Kerr, a spokesman for Metro Transit. “In practical terms, the difference is really only the vehicle in which you are in. While we have the maintenance, we still get the people where they had to go for the period we did. On Friday.”

Kerr says that around 10% of people who take part in large events such as the Yacht Club Festival use a quick transit.

The good news for concert goers – the rail service was resumed on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. two days before the schedule.

This means full services for those who drive to the festival on Sunday.

Nevertheless, some here say, only in the event that they are planning ahead next year.

“Not everyone is lucky enough to have their own vehicle,” says Effie Barnes from St. Paul. “So I think that public transit is particularly important in St. Paul.”