LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — More than 40,000 fans are expected to pour into Lexington for the Railbird Music Festival on June 6 and 7, but with no public parking at the Red Mile, festival-goers have long been left to find their own alternatives. This year, Lexington Clinic is stepping up with a solution.
The clinic is opening its parking lot — located less than 1 mile from the Red Mile, approximately a 12-to-20-minute walk — to festival-goers for $25 per day in advance or $35 day-of. Tickets are available through Eventbrite.
Alex Risen, Lexington Clinic's corporate communications manager and public relations representative, said the decision was straightforward.
"It was an opportunity for us to say 'Hey, we have 831 spots that are right here in the backyard. Let's go ahead and open it up and try to make it reasonable too," Risen said.
Staff will be on hand throughout the weekend to assist with parking entry and flow, and security will patrol the lot. Risen noted the lot will not be available for overnight parking — vehicles must be out by 1 a.m.
"Again we're gonna have people working all weekend. You can't park here overnight. You have to leave by 1 a.m., but it's an opportunity for someone to pop in, it's gonna be safe, we're hiring security, you don't have to worry about your car, we'll have people patrolling it," Risen said.
From the lot, festival-goers can walk up South Broadway and turn left to reach the Red Mile, where headliners The Lumineers and Tyler Childers are scheduled to perform along with dozens of other acts.
"It's an opportunity for us to make sure we're giving back a little bit and we wanted to make it really accessible. At $25 it's fairly easy, and that just covers the cost of the security folks and operations staff we'll have throughout the weekend," Risen said.
More than 100 spots have already been reserved. Parking remains available day-of unless the lot sells out.
