Traffic Jams on the Iowa State Fair's Grand Concourse

Our Great State Fair | Clip
Aug 3, 2023 | 1 min

Kenneth Fulk, former Iowa State Fair Manager, was not afraid to try something new. He revolutionized the fair in many ways, including closing Grand Avenue to automobile traffic. The change relieved the miles-long traffic jams that plagued the entrance and transformed Grand Avenue into the Grand Concourse. 

Transcript

[Narrator] Fulk was not afraid to make a change or try something new. One idea he had was closing Grand Avenue to traffic. The change would relieve the miles-long traffic jams that plagued the entrance into the fair. It transformed into the now famous Grand Concourse. 

[Connie Boesen] He wanted to get the cars off the road so that people would have a safer and a better experience. He knew the flow of people. And so, if you look at an area of a fair, maybe it's not the best traveled, well how do you get people to go up to that, to spread people out and to get more movement?