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Status of bike parking at Monterey County Fair & Event Center; plus tips for people who bike to Monterey Jazz Festival

For the 2022 Monterey Jazz Festival, refer to tweet directly below for what we know as of September 23, 2022. Scroll below the tweet for some history about bicycle parking at the Monterey County Fair & Event Center; and scroll further down for past years’ tips about biking to the Monterey Jazz Festival.
https://twitter.com/BikeMonterey/status/1573779776401068032?s=20&t=KKjH3reNsTKkQOm8UxY8FQ

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Some history about bicycle parking at the Monterey County Fair & Event Center:
  1. Anytime that bike valet parking is unavailable at the fairgrounds, bicycle parking is problematic. According to a staff person in the Monterey County Fair & Events Center office on 9/24/21, there were no bicycle parking racks, or bicycle lockers [installed] on the fairgrounds property. (Also refer to #4 below.)
  2. In past years, fairgrounds staff has stated that people are not to lock bicycles to the fairgrounds’ fences (although occasionally some people do). Bikes locked to fencing there would also be prone to theft.
  3. Optimal theft-prevention is, of course, an important factor in any fairgrounds bike parking. We wish we could direct visitors and residents to great bicycle parking options for attendees of, e.g., the 2021 Monterey Jazz Festival. Unfortunately, we are not aware of any good solutions for MJF on September 24-26, 2021.
  4. For many years, Bicycling Monterey has reached out directly to staff at the Transportation Agency for Monterey County and Monterey County Fair & Events Center about the need for bike parking facilities at the fairgrounds—most recently to TAMC, in written public comments provided for the January 9, 2019 TAMC Bicycle and Pedestrian Facilities Advisory Committee meeting. A TAMC staff member stated on October 1, 2021 that, to their knowledge, TAMC had awarded 12 bike racks to the Fairgrounds in 2019, and they were ordered and delivered in 2020. We wondered if perhaps the fairgrounds office staff person we spoke with on September 24 had indicated there were no bike racks or lockers because 12 racks had been received but not yet installed. On October 2, we biked around the fairgrounds property, didn’t spot any bike racks, and sought out a grounds attendant, finding one who had worked for the fairgrounds for more than a decade. His understanding is that what we guessed is likely correct: the 12 racks are in storage, not yet installed. (A result of the pandemic is that fairgrounds staff hours had been reduced, so not all projects that would be normally be accomplished have been yet.) We’ll update this post if we learn new information.

    Businesses or organizations can apply to TAMC for free bicycle parking racks, lockers, maintenance stations, and more: https://www.tamcmonterey.org/bicycle-secure-program

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The 2010 bike valet claim check below is a blast from Monterey Jazz Festival’s past—when Monterey Green Action was organizer of the bike valet station. Below, learn some history of MJF’s bike valet parking service.
 

In light of the global pandemic, note various changes for Monterey Jazz Festival 2021; refer to their FAQs for starters: https://montereyjazzfestival.org/faqs/. One change: as we confirmed with the Monterey Jazz Festival office, for the first time since 2008, the MJF would not have bicycle valet parking in 2021.
 
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The in-person 2020 festival was canceled due to the global pandemic, with online jazz instead. The information below has not been updated since 2019.
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 62nd Annual Monterey Jazz Festival: Sept 27-29, 2019

(Note change from previously scheduled dates: http://www.montereycountyweekly.com/blogs/music_blog/jazz-festival-abandons-traditional-dates-to-avoid-conflict-with-indycar/article_4a383096-353c-11e9-9510-4783fef21562.html)

Bike or bike-and-ride to jazz!
The Monterey Jazz Festival had the first bike valet station in Monterey County, beginning in 2008.
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Below, get tips about

  1. MJF’s bike valet service
  2. Option: bike-and-ride
  3. Directions for biking to the Festival venue (Monterey County Fair & Event Center)
  4. History of the Festival’s bike valet service
  5. Water stations

Festival hours and all Monterey Jazz Festival info: http://www.montereyjazzfestival.org.

MJF’s Greening the Monterey Jazz Festival page,  http://www.montereyjazzfestival.org/green/greening-monterey-jazz-festival, highlights their bike valet service, water stations, and more. And kudos to Monterey Jazz for also reminding people about bicycling as a transportation option via their pages Getting to the Festival and Parking / RV Info.

Bike to jazz and you’ll avoid parking lot fees, see the neighborhoods up close and personal, get some exercise in the fresh coastal air, help keep the air and water cleaner, and have more fun!

1. MJF’s bike valet service

  • The bike valet parking station is a service most recently provided by Green Pedal Couriers & Friends. This free service is provided in partnership with Monterey Jazz Festival, Monterey County Fair & Event Center, and Bicycling Monterey.
  • The valet attendants will accommodate cargo bicycles and bicycle trailers too, as well as strollers, skateboards, joggers, etc.
  • As the Jazz Festival’s Greening page states, in 2019 the bike valet station is planned to again be at Fairgrounds Gate 3, near the corner of Fairground Road and Garden Road, at the southwest end of the Festival grounds. (For any possible changes to assigned gate, check MJF’s Greening page. Just fyi, some events at this venue have the bike valet at Gate 5.) 
  • Bike valet questions? Contact Green Pedal Couriers or the Monterey Jazz Festival. (For general bicycling questions, see Bicycling Monterey’s 20-section Tips for Bicycling Monterey County guide or feel free to phone Bicycling Monterey.)

2. Option: bike-and-ride

Bicycling doesn’t have to be all or nothing. If your schedule or stamina don’t allow biking all the way to the Festival, consider biking part-way. Consider a bike-and-ride option.

Will you be making use of bike-and-ride option Monterey-Salinas Transit? See “What to do when bike racks on buses are full, or if there’s no rack on an MST trolley.”

3. Directions for biking to MJF venue

The Monterey Jazz Festival venue (Monterey County Fair & Event Center) is a short bike ride from the popular coastal bike/multi-use trail that is part of the Monterey Bay Sanctuary Scenic Trail network. Below are two of the routes many people take. For additional directions help, refer to Bicycle maps / Mapas de bicicletas – en español and English for Monterey County.

Bike-there direx from the coastal trail at Casa Verde

Note: This route is nearly entirely flat, with only one very short and cinchy hill just before you reach Fremont Avenue.

  1. Leave the bike/multi-use trail at the Casa Verde intersection, where Casa Verde intersects the trail and the street that parallels the trail there, Del Monte Avenue. (Not familiar with that intersection?  A landmark on the southwest corner of Casa Verde and Del Monte is Bay View Academy.)
  2. Cross Del Monte Avenue and bike south on Casa Verde. There are no bike lanes on Casa Verde nearly all the way to the fairgrounds, so use extra caution as you share the traffic lane with cars.
  3. Continue up Casa Verde all the way to the T-intersection at Fairground Road. (When you’re nearly there, Casa Verde crosses Fremont Avenue. At the Casa Verde and Fremont intersection, on your right is a gas station and, across Fremont, a Beverly’s fabrics/crafts store.)
  4. After crossing Fremont, you’ll see a “green lane” (added in 2016, to welcome people who bike to the Monterey County Fair & Event Center). That’s the fairgrounds marquee straight ahead of you. To reach Gate 3, turn right at the stop sign at that T-intersection. IMG_0177
  5. Continue west on Fairground Road to the traffic signal at the corner of Fairground Road and Garden Road.
  6. At the traffic signal, turn left onto Garden Road, then a left into the bike valet parking station area just outside Gate 3. Look for the bike valet signs.

Bike-there direx from coastal trail at Camino Aguajito

Note: This route is mostly flat, with some slight uphill on Mark Thomas that most people will find comfortable.

  1. Leave the bike/multi-use trail at Camino Aguajito, which has a traffic signal. You’ll be crossing the street that parallels the trail there, Del Monte Avenue. (Not familiar with that intersection? There’s a gas station on the southeast corner of Camino Aguajito and Del Monte.) 
  2. Continue south on Camino Aguajito to Third Street. Turn left on Third Street (landmark—but not the direction you’re going: on the right, that street is named Pearl Street and bridges over Lake El Estero).
  3. Continue east on Third Street to the T-intersection at Sloat, which runs alongside the Naval Postgraduate School.
  4. Turn right onto Sloat. Continue south on Sloat until you reach the traffic light at Mark Thomas Drive.
  5. Turn left onto Mark Thomas Drive.
  6. Continue east on Mark Thomas to the traffic signal at Garden Road. (Just fyi, at Garden Road, Mark Thomas becomes Fairground Road.)
  7. Turn right at the traffic signal onto Garden Road, then a left into the bike valet parking station area just outside Gate 3. Look for the bike valet signs.

4. History of MJF’s bike valet service

The Monterey Jazz Festival had the first bike valet parking station in Monterey County!

  • Beginning in 2008, the Monterey Jazz Festival offered free bike valet parking, provided in partnership between Monterey Jazz Festival, the Monterey County Fair & Event Center, and Monterey Green Action.
  • From 2008-2012, the bike valet effort was organized by Monterey Green Action, supported in 2011-2012 by Green Pedal Couriers.
  • In 2013, Green Pedal Couriers & Friends took on the bike valet organizing, keeping the bike valet ops rocking—well, jazzed!—in Monterey County.
  • In 2019, Green Pedal Couriers & Friends remained the valet provider, as the MJF bike valet station marked its 12th consecutive year!
Another eco-groovy action festival-goers can take: make use of

5. Water stations

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Filtered water stations, as with the bike valet station, are among the Monterey Jazz green initiatives. Support Monterey Jazz Festival in reducing the carbon footprint of this event. Here’s what’s up with the water stations. For any changes, contact Monterey Jazz Festival.
  • Throughout the three-day Jazz Fest, you’ll have free access to multiple U.S. Pure Water/The Water Store filtered water stations. 
  • Bring your own stainless steel or other nonbreakable individual use container to refill and reuse.  Per state and county regulations, glass and containerized beverages cannot be brought onto the fairgrounds, except for one unopened plastic bottle of water.  A stainless steel or other nonbreakable individual use water container is allowed, which may be filled at the free Pure Water stations. Forget? Water bottles will be available for sale, with proceeds benefiting jazz ed.
  • Why? Monterey Jazz cares about reducing plastic pollution! Learn more about plastic pollution in “Bike to the Beach.”
  • Let the Jazz Fest know you appreciate their water stations, as well as their bike valet parking service and other green actions.

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If you find info on the

Bicycling Monterey website helpful,

please make a contribution.

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Questions?

For general bicycling questions, see Bicycling Monterey’s 20-section Tips for Bicycling Monterey County guide or feel free to phone Bicycling Monterey.
For bike valet questions, contact the Jazz Festival.

This post was updated from 2009-2017 editions.

This post was published on 24 September 2021. One or more changes last made to this post on 24 September 2022.

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