Old Car Festival Trailer Parking - 2024

[BRENT in 10-uh-C]

For those who have been assigned to park at the Rotunda Center (17000 Rotunda Sr) off of the Southfield Rd. service/feeder, -or for the Lansing Run participants who are parked beside the Rotunda lot in the Link Engineering lot.

Since all of the construction is going on, there likely will be a lot of brass-era cars going back to their trailers on Saturday night with 'marginal' lighting at best. Last year many of those participants were parked on The Henry Ford property at the lot where Southfield and Village Rd. intersect. This was OK because we could stay on the HF property the entire trip and safely away from public street traffic and potential dangers. This year they have routed us onto public streets for the trip back to our trailers where effectively we must drive on Rotunda and also deal with traffic exiting Southfield Freeway.

In looking at this, it would really be neat if MDOT could put a temporary barricade on the northbound Southfield service road just past the NB on-ramp so cars turning from Rotunda Drive onto the Southfield Freeway could still enter, -but it would allow the vintage cars to travel towards both parking areas by taking Village Rd. around, crossing over the Southfield Freeway at the traffic signal, and then turning right onto what would be the temporarily closed Southfield service road. Yes I realize it is a one-way road during normal traffic patterns, but for a one or two day period, I think that would make safe passage for the OCF participants who have vehicles with non-electric lamps. Does anyone agree with this, -and if so, does anyone know anyone in charge that could make that happen for us??

This map shows their recommended route to the trailers at 9:00PM;
https://maps.app.goo.gl/ktdsTY7iXnRNTzyY7

[mike catlin]

My concern is that we cannot park until 6;00 pm. With that many cars it will take some time.

[TWrenn]

Bring your rain parkas. So far the weather idjuts that can never get it right say 60% rain/storms Friday afternoon/evening and downright chilly Saturday...65 degrees with lingering morning showers.

[BRENT in 10-uh-C]

Bring your rain parkas. So far the weather idjuts that can never get it right say 60% rain/storms Friday afternoon/evening and downright chilly Saturday...65 degrees with lingering morning showers.

You just jinx-ed us Tim. Now with certainty there will be a 60% chance of rain, ...if not more!!

[TWrenn]

Bring your rain parkas. So far the weather idjuts that can never get it right say 60% rain/storms Friday afternoon/evening and downright chilly Saturday...65 degrees with lingering morning showers.

You just jinx-ed us Tim. Now with certainty there will be a 60% chance of rain, ...if not more!!

Actually Brent, likely not. And of course no intentions to jinx it here...however, and I was remiss in saying, that usually a forecast THAT far out ends up being the exact opposite come the day! Seriously...being a former boater/sailor/commercial boat captain trust me I've seen this time and again trying to plan something a week out! Never works! Keep calm friend, it'll be fine! (I hope).

[KeithG]

Hi Brent, Your concerns are right on. Parking has often been a problem at the OCF over the years. In the 15 years we've been at the OCF, we've parked in 5 different lots, some better than others. This is one of the worst.
This lot at Rotunda is very bad as you mentioned because we have to drive on Southfield Freeway to get to it after dark.
Perhaps this issue should be brought to THF so they can be pro-active and use traffic control measures to reduce the potential for accidents.
I'm sure that there are many of us that are concerned about this.

Keith

[TrentB]

Keith,

It is not necessary to get on M-153 Southfield Freeway to get to Greenfield Village, in fact I strongly recommend you don’t.

Having said that, there is an access road on both sides of Southfield, called Southfield Freeway Frontage Road. When you get to Southfield, turn north on the frontage road. Stay on the frontage road until you reach Village Road. Turn left on Village Road. This is the back entrance to The Henry Ford and Greenfield Village. It will take you directly to the entrance to Greenfield Village and the Museum.

On the way back to the parking area, take the Frontage Road on the west side of Southfield Freeway.

Hope this helps…

[KeithG]

Hi Trent, Thanks for the info. We'll check that out before Friday Evening & in the daylight so we're familiar with it.
That sounds much better than being on the main part of the freeway.
Thanks again,
Keith

[BRENT in 10-uh-C]

Hi Trent, Thanks for the info. We'll check that out before Friday Evening & in the daylight so we're familiar with it.
That sounds much better than being on the main part of the freeway.
Thanks again,
Keith

Keith, Trent is correct in that you are not (-or shouldn't be) on the main Freeway, -HOWEVER speaking from experience here, you ARE in a potentially dangerous situation because of several scenarios. Motorists on the M-153 Southfield Freeway have a 55mph speed limit, ....however from what I have seen & experienced, that is a mere suggestion to those motorists driving on that road!! Then, the two-lane Southfield frontage road parallels the Freeway for a bit where the motorist's speeds on that portion of Southfield Road tends to rival those of the adjacent M-153 Freeway's speeds. The Southfield Road divides just before The HF and Village Rd. however the speed limit on the section we will be driving on is 40 mph (and again, at 9:00PM that number is likely just another suggested speed for motorists ). A police car stationed at the corner of Village & Southfield Road would definitely be a deterrent to excessive speed in that area.

The next potentially dangerous situation is just before we arrive at the Rotunda Drive traffic signal (-about 2 miles of driving on this road!), you have vehicles exiting the Freeway and trying to merge onto this access road before the traffic signal, ...all the while you have slow-moving antique vehicles with marginal lights needing to be in the Left lane before that signal to turn onto Rotunda. So with a couple hundred antique vehicles all traveling around this section of road while at the same time plugging up both traffic signals at Rotunda & Southfield, how do you think these unsuspecting local motorists (-who are now being delayed thru this area) are going to react?? So do you now feel safer knowing you won't be driving on the Southfield Freeway!!

As Trent suggested in his instructions, it should be an easy drive over to the entrance of Greenfield Village on both mornings because of visibility and traffic on a less-traveled road. It is the commute back to the trailers at 9:00PM that poses the risks IMO. Even if security (LEOs or MSP) with flashing lights could be stationed at the traffic light at Village Rd., and at both traffic signals on Rotunda allowing antique vehicle traffic to be sheltered from local motorists, I think it would assist in what could be a tense situation for some OCF participants.

[Jerry VanOoteghem]

Keith,

It is not necessary to get on M-153 Southfield Freeway to get to Greenfield Village, in fact I strongly recommend you don’t.

Having said that, there is an access road on both sides of Southfield, called Southfield Freeway Frontage Road. When you get to Southfield, turn north on the frontage road. Stay on the frontage road until you reach Village Road. Turn left on Village Road. This is the back entrance to The Henry Ford and Greenfield Village. It will take you directly to the entrance to Greenfield Village and the Museum.

On the way back to the parking area, take the Frontage Road on the west side of Southfield Freeway.

Hope this helps…

Trent is correct. The frontage road, (or "service drive" here in Michigan), should be no problem whatsoever for antique cars.

There is nothing any more dangerous in this route than any of us who drives a Model T just about anywhere has experienced before. Use the usual cautions and it's "gonna be okay".

[Jerry VanOoteghem]

Hi Brent, Your concerns are right on. Parking has often been a problem at the OCF over the years. In the 15 years we've been at the OCF, we've parked in 5 different lots, some better than others. This is one of the worst.
This lot at Rotunda is very bad as you mentioned because we have to drive on Southfield Freeway to get to it after dark.

Keith

Absolutely not true. Nobody has to drive on the Southfield Freeway at all.

Also, this is not "one of the worst" lots. In the past, driving from the lot at Fair Lane Town Center was much more challenging, with having to drive down fast moving Michigan Avenue.

[BRENT in 10-uh-C]

Also, this is not "one of the worst" lots. In the past, driving from the lot at Fair Lane Town Center was much more challenging, with having to drive down fast moving Michigan Avenue.

Yes, that parking lot is definitely another one!!

Jerry, did they have you driving your Model-N (-late at night on Michigan Ave.) back to that parking lot after the Saturday OCF show? Surely not, -but maybe they did??

[Jerry VanOoteghem]

Also, this is not "one of the worst" lots. In the past, driving from the lot at Fair Lane Town Center was much more challenging, with having to drive down fast moving Michigan Avenue.

Yes, that parking lot is definitely another one!!

Jerry, did they have you driving your Model-N (-late at night on Michigan Ave.) back to that parking lot after the Saturday OCF show? Surely not, -but maybe they did??

I haven't had my N there for several years now. But when I did, I unloaded the car either in the public parking lot, (near the Automotive Hall of Fame), outside of the Village entrance, or within the Village itself, before 9AM. I then took my trailer to the designated parking lot and left it there. My N was never driven on public roads the whole time. Since I'm bringing the N this year, this is my current plan as well. I do not remove my cars from the Village on Saturday night. I just cover them up. If you need to get back to the parking areas on Sat. night, I believe they have regular shuttles for that. You should not need to drive your T to the lot, unless that's what you want to do.

[Humblej]

I plan to unload my T at Greenfield Village Friday night. Can I leave my trailer at the Rotunda lot and drive my tow vehicle back and forth to my hotel?

[Playswithbrass]

If you don’t feel safe driving after dusk away from the Village, don’t stay that late! And the instructions clearly state to use the service road. And most people drop their trailer and drive their tow vehicle to their hotel.

[Jerry VanOoteghem]

I plan to unload my T at Greenfield Village Friday night. Can I leave my trailer at the Rotunda lot and drive my tow vehicle back and forth to my hotel?

That's what I do, (except I just drive home).

[BRENT in 10-uh-C]

If you don’t feel safe driving after dusk away from the Village, don’t stay that late! And the instructions clearly state to use the service road. And most people drop their trailer and drive their tow vehicle to their hotel.

Geez, that kinda defeats the whole purpose of towing 600 miles to come to OCF. Participating with early cars and having non-electric lamps is why the organizers call it a Gaslight Parade, -and that is one of the major reasons why we participate in the parade. In years past, the organizers were helpful by staging the trailers for the early cars either behind the Tavern or at one of the lots on the HF property. This allowed these vehicles to be moved to their trailers while on private property and away from local traffic. It also allowed the vehicles to be sheltered from overnight inclement weather, ...which is what it appears we are in-store for this year. So we will see how this all unfolds this weekend.

[PeterN]

Like Jerry, I plan on leaving my car overnight at the village, but a couple of tips and some info for those who will be driving back to the Rotunda Center.
1. The bridges over Southfield freeway have a “u-turn” loop. Instead of going all of the way to the light you can make an immediate left onto the bridge. Before moving to Michigan I had never seen this before and nearly had a heart attack the first time as a passenger when the driver took an immediate left into what I thought was going to be oncoming traffic.
I drew a really bad arrow to show this.
2. Most drivers exiting this ramp will be immediately trying to get to the far right lane after exiting the freeway. FWIW.
3. There is a stop sign on the service drive to allow freeway traffic the right of way. There is a good line of site to see if a driver is exiting the highway and to keep momentum I may have been known to yield as needed.
4. As of this writing, there is construction on the freeway and only 2 SB lanes open with a “Speed limit” of 45mph. The Rotunda ramp has been closed a lot lately. We may just get lucky.

If you plan to use the Rotunda lot at all, note the construction on Southfield which is on NB and SB lanes may slow you down. Recommend using Waze or your favorite mapping program when coming in with your towing rig.

[BRENT in 10-uh-C]

Well, my suspicions were correct in this but I think it all worked out. It was VERY dark Saturday evening driving back to the trailer lot on Southfield. (Fortunately the weather was really cold and many drove back early and did not stay for the gaslight parade). For us, Larry Schramm followed us back in his modern truck and had the emergency flashers on. Traffic on Southfield was whizzing by us too!! Plus, that road is very bumpy where I didn't want to be driving fast anyway. Once we had put away my cars and as we were heading back to the hotel in my pickup, there was a Stanley and a small group of other cars that turned off of Village onto Southfield heading to the parking area with only one or two cars with any type of tail lights (small original type of light). We did the same and followed them with our hazard lights flashing to shield them from other traffic. Because there was a lot of traffic turning right onto Southfield off of Rotunda, I pulled my vehicle around the old vehicles and use my truck to block traffic for them to make the turn from the U-turn on the service road. Again, it all worked out from what I saw, but it was definitely tense for some.

[DHort]

My T's are too modern so I have electric lights. The one time I participated I was disappointed because it is a gaslight parade and I would guess 75% of the headlights were electric. Would be nice if they could put the gaslights in the front and electric lights in the back. Too bad Ford does not allow the trailers with brass cars to park across the street from the Henry Ford. Lots of parking there.

[Jerry VanOoteghem]

My T's are too modern so I have electric lights. The one time I participated I was disappointed because it is a gaslight parade and I would guess 75% of the headlights were electric. Would be nice if they could put the gaslights in the front and electric lights in the back. Too bad Ford does not allow the trailers with brass cars to park across the street from the Henry Ford. Lots of parking there.

The fact is, that the number of "gas light" era cars at OCF are much less that the number of electric light cars. Of those gas light era cars, the vast majority had halogen or LED bulbs in their headlamps. I'm proud to say I used kerosene lamps only. There really is no "out in front", since there is pretty much a continuous line of cars, stretching the whole parade route.

[PeterN]

My favorite part is the gaslight parade. Lit up the sidelights and headlights although I must admit I use an MC tank mounted at an angle underneath for the headlights. I’ve been running on the same tank for at least 6 or 7 years and thought this would be the year I would run out of gas.

Well, I did run out of gas, but unfortunately it wasn’t the acetylene.

Embarrassing rookie mistake, but made for a great photo op at the carousel.
Big shout out to the event team for the emergency fill up.

[Ed Baudoux]

We RV camped in the Rotunda lot, and had no problems driving to and from Greenfield Village. I stayed on Rotunda until turning onto Oakwood. There was no reason to use Southfield. It was great to see everyone!

[BRENT in 10-uh-C]

My T's are too modern so I have electric lights. The one time I participated I was disappointed because it is a gaslight parade and I would guess 75% of the headlights were electric. Would be nice if they could put the gaslights in the front and electric lights in the back. Too bad Ford does not allow the trailers with brass cars to park across the street from the Henry Ford. Lots of parking there.

Hi Dave, -if your disappointment was based on this year's parade, then you probably did not experience the true ambience of a typical Gaslight parade. This year it seemed the participation was down, ...likely because of Saturday's cold temps. (-especially with the older folks who have the early cars but didn't want to get sick due to the temps). This is just my observation, but it seemed to me that overall attendance of both participants and spectators was down compared to years past. My guess if you were to do it again, you would be much more excited.

As far as parking across the street, in years past the area behind the tavern and behind the Engineering Labs was used for parking early car support vehicles. This year, the Reliability Run vehicle trailers were staged on Wednesday evening at the Link Engineering side lot off of Southfield, and we were gone on Thursday and Friday. Again, in years past those support vehicles were parked on the Eagle Tavern lot which had adequate lighting, and the lighting on the outside of the Ford buildings was plenty to drive back to the trailers parked behind the Engineering Building.

[Jerry VanOoteghem]

As far as parking across the street, in years past the area behind the tavern and behind the Engineering Labs was used for parking early car support vehicles.

The old Engineering Building has somehow reverted back to Ford Motor Company and is therefore now off limits to us. There were a lot of trailers parked in a new lot, just inside the Village Gate, at the Southfield service drive and accessible from Village Drive. Maybe the Lansing to Dearborn folks??

[DHort]

Brent

My observation was a few years ago. They started the parade and it wasn't even dark out yet. No one needed headlights.

I wanted to see the gaslights and it seemed like 75% of the cars had electric lights. I would prefer to see the gaslights.
That is why I said gaslights should be first and electric lights second. It just took away almost all the ambience.

If they want electric lights I should drive my 2023 Maverick in the parade.

[Jerry VanOoteghem]

Brent

My observation was a few years ago. They started the parade and it wasn't even dark out yet. No one needed headlights.

I wanted to see the gaslights and it seemed like 75% of the cars had electric lights. I would prefer to see the gaslights.
That is why I said gaslights should be first and electric lights second. It just took away almost all the ambience.

If they want electric lights I should drive my 2023 Maverick in the parade.

Dave,

Nobody "starts" anything. Cars drive around continuously, all day long. At some point, folks just turn their lights on. There are no set rules for this. Owners are allowed to enjoy themselves and their cars as they see fit.

[BRENT in 10-uh-C]

Brent

My observation was a few years ago. They started the parade and it wasn't even dark out yet. No one needed headlights.

I wanted to see the gaslights and it seemed like 75% of the cars had electric lights. I would prefer to see the gaslights.
That is why I said gaslights should be first and electric lights second. It just took away almost all the ambience.

If they want electric lights I should drive my 2023 Maverick in the parade.

Yeah, I am at a loss for words on this too. Jerry is correct in that the OCF 'parade' generally starts around 7:30-ish on Saturday morning and runs continuously until around 9:30PM when all of the participants have parked their vehicles either inside of the village or at their trailers. If all you came to OCF was for seeing gas lights, then from my vantage point you likely came to OCF for the wrong reason.

Additionally, if you do not want to see electric lights, then your logic suggests the HF should not accept vehicles from around 1915 thru 1932 models because they have electric lighting which takes away most of the ambience you are there to see. If they do that, then it really won't affect me as I will participate in a 1909 and a '14 sans anything electrically illuminated. My instinct says there won't be many participants in that parade, -or even many vehicles driving in the village on that Saturday.

[KeithG]

My gripe about the gaslight parade is that some cars don't have any headlights lit at all, even they do have headlights on their car. Further, some cars don't have any taillights or even reflectors on the back of their car. This is especially bad in the area of the covered bridge where there aren't many street lights.
Think what a black car looks like after dark when there are no or few street lights, and the car is going slower than other traffic. This could be an accident waiting to happen.

Just my two cents worth.

Keith

[Jerry VanOoteghem]

For my wife and I, OCF this year was one of the best. It was all wonderful.

[Steve Jelf]

It has been interesting for me to read about all the real and potential work-arounds for cars with gas lights. I haven't had to deal with that because of my "modern" car with MAG lights. Not that they are any good in real darkness, but commuting back and forth from Wayne by way of Michigan Avenue and Oakwood Boulevard has been no big deal. That piece of city driving is so well-lit that mag lights serve only to make my car more visible in traffic. And how about that "fast" traffic? I've found the right lane perfectly feasible at 40 mph when there's any need to go that fast. I don't drive that fast very often, but for much of that 25-mile commute it has been fine, with 35 mph in some stretches being no problem. With all the street lights and other sources of illumination, I haven't worried about getting lost or hitting anything.

Michigan Avenue. Not much speed here. Lots of stop & crawl.