FAYETTEVILLE, Ga. — We're just days away from an event that will impact travel for thousands in Fulton and Fayette Counties. Police and event organizers are preparing for rapper Rick Ross' car show at his Fayetteville mansion this Saturday, but many people who live nearby are worried about getting around.
Traffic moved smoothly Thursday along Old National Highway, but what's planned for Saturday, June 3, along the road has some residents concerned it could be a repeat of last year's event.
No parking signs are not just outside of Ross' mansion but for miles around the community in Fulton and Fayette Counties and for good reason.
“The delays from the event last year were about two hours. We had people calling and complaining that they couldn’t get to their residence," City of South Fulton Police Chief Keith Meadows said.
Meadows said car show organizers worked with law enforcement to come up with a traffic plan. They're paying for 75 off-deputy police officers, and four different law enforcement agencies will provide their own officers at various traffic intersections and roads close to Ross' mansion, which he calls "The Promise Land."
“We have several different teams that will be operating within the City of South Fulton that we’ve dedicated to make sure that our business corridors remain passable," Meadows said.
Ross' lawyer Leron Rogers said the car show will also include horses and a rodeo show. People will be bussed to the mansion from lots.
“They will go to offsite parking and then check in and then be transported in luxury busses to the estate where they'll get dropped off and then return. When they're done, they can go back to their cars," Rogers said.
Almost 7,000 people are expected to attend the car show, and Meadows said anyone who parks where they're not supposed to be will be towed.
“At some times during the event last year, we had people stopping, parking their cars, getting out, and playing their music. This year, we’ll have wreckers along the corridors," Meadows said.
Veda Williams lives in the City of South Fulton not far from the event.
“I think it’s disproportionally selfish and childish," Williams said.
She said during last year's car show, it took hours to get out of her neighborhood. She's planning on taking a different route this Saturday.
“If this is any indication of what happened last year, which was a fiasco, and it seems like it’s going to be even worse this year, I think it’s drastically irresponsible, and what we’re going to have to do this year to compensate for this car show that he’s having, it’s coming out of my tax money, not his," Williams said.
Four different law enforcement agencies will be out for the event. That includes the City of South Fulton Police, the Fulton County Sheriff's Office, the Fayette County Sheriff's Office, and Georgia State Patrol.
Ross' permit for the event was initially denied.