They learned it at the 1999 U.S. Open held in the village of Pinehurst, as well as at the 1996 U.S. Women’s Open Champion-ship held at Pine Needles Lodge & Golf Club.
Next week they get to put that education into action, as thousands of vehicles converge on Pine Needles for an encore of the Women’s Open.
“Thanks to what we learned from the 1999 Open and in 1996, we really expect things to go smoothly,” Transportation Director Lee Bowman said. “Using what we’ve learned, we have been able to really tweak everything and insure that the parking situation is very good. We started to work on the transportation plan as soon as it was announced that the Open would be played at Pine Needles. And we’ve stayed in constant communication with local law enforcement to assure that everything is worked out come tournament time.”
According to the tournament’s traffic plan, spectators will be directed to a general parking lot just off Camp Easter Road near the admission gate. This is a 40-acre lot that can hold about 4,000 cars. A complimentary shuttle service will provide transportation to the main gate.
Handicapped parking will be adjacent to the main admission gate.
This parking location was chosen specifically to reduce traffic pressure on the main thoroughfares, Championship Director Reg Jones said.
“This parking lot was selected to minimize the volume of event-generated traffic within the area bounded by U.S. 1, N.C. 2, Pee Dee Drive and Fairway Drive/Camp Easter Road,” Jones said.
Area residents attending the tournament are advised to also use the general parking area on Camp Easter Road because the limited number of on-site parking spaces will be reserved for contestants, officials, media and the USGA.
Various traffic and parking restrictions will be in effect in the area surrounding Pine Needles. For example, Midland Road will be divided into separate lanes for through and Open traffic, and the median crossovers on Midland Road will be blocked except for those monitored by the N.C. State Highway Patrol. To ensure a smooth traffic flow, the Highway Patrol will have checkpoints set up at Midland and Grove roads, Midland and Ridge roads, N.C. 22 and Aiken Road, and Aiken Road and Fairway Drive.
Oak Drive will also be barricaded at N.C. 22.
To ensure safety, the highway patrol will set up and monitor pedestrian crossings on N.C. 22 between the second green and third tee, the ninth and second tees, and the 15th and 16th holes. Employees, visitors, vendors of St. Joseph of the Pines Hospital, and anyone who lives along N.C. 22 will receive identifying tags that will allow them to pass through the traffic posts at Pee Dee Road and N.C. 22.
Parking will not be permitted along Midland and Pee Dee roads. The Southern Pines Police Department will control access to the residential area along Fairway Drive in order to prevent excessive traffic near the golf course, as well as to prevent parking on private property.
The police will also be manning posts at Grove and Ridge roads, Branch and Grove roads, and Swoope and Fairway drives.
And to protect spectators crossing from the 17th green to the 18th tee, a barricade will be set up at Grove and Longleaf roads. Residents will each receive two parking passes so that they can access their property. More passes will be made available if needed.
“Championship week will require some adjustments to normal traffic patterns around Pine Needles,” Jones said. “We would like to ask everyone’s cooperation. If local residents are aware of our transportation set-up and plan accordingly, we can assure a smooth flow of traffic.”
