Traffic woes may hamper Halifax's McCartney mania

As organizers complete the 60,000-seat outdoor venue for Paul McCartney'sshow at the Halifax Commons on Saturday, they're warning concert-goers to leave their cars at home because of a major bridge closure.

The event will be the former Beatle's only Canadian concert date this year, and organizers worked feverishly to prepare the site for the one-night event.

The concert area will be open-air,leading toconcerns all week that rain or fog might put a damper on the fun.

But with the forecast now calling for a high of 23 degrees and clear skies, it's the potential traffic chaos that has some people worried.

The Angus L. MacDonald Bridge linking Dartmouth with Halifax will be closed leading up to what's likely to be the busiest event of Halifax's summer. The approaches to the bridge need repaving, and the work is being done overnight and on weekends.

The Halifax-Dartmouth Bridge Commission scheduled the work beforeknowing about theconcert. CEO Steve Snyder said that despite the potential for major traffic snags, the commissionjust can't afford to lose any more construction time.

As a result, concert organizers are urging show-goers to leave their cars at home if possible.

Metro Transit willoperate shuttle buses that will stopright beside the Commons. The buses will leave every 10 minutes starting at 12:30 p.m. from four locations: Lacewood Terminal, Sackville Terminal, South Centre Mall and Portland Hills.

The harbour ferry is another option. It will run every 15 minutesuntil 12:45 a.m. Sunday.

There will be no special provisions for parking, police say. In fact, parking will be off-limits in the areas immediately surrounding the Commons along Robie, Cogswell, Cunard and North Park streets.

The park is set to open at 3 p.m. McCartney is slated to start playing between 8:45 and 9:30.