Matt Younkin flies his Twin Beechcraft during the Rocky Mountain Air Show at the Aurora Reservoir on May 30. (Andy Cross, The Denver Post)
So who had the bright idea of having a major air show at the Aurora Reservoir last weekend? Normally, air shows take place at airports, where many static displays of aircraft can be viewed on the tarmac.
In the past, the Rocky Mountain Air Show has been at the Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport in Jefferson County, where even there traffic and parking have been bad, even though there are major highways around that airport. Around the Aurora Reservoir, there are miles and miles of small, two-lane roads. To compound problems, this year the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds performed for the first time in 18 years, making even more people want to attend.
For me, it normally takes 15 minutes to drive to the Aurora Reservoir, but on Saturday it took more than two hours. Just getting out of the parking lot to leave took 40 minutes. Either the number of people attending was vastly underestimated or the traffic and parking planning were totally botched.
Paul Ruzicka, Aurora
This letter was published in the June 8 edition.
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