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Shuttle waits anger Country Crossings patrons A huge crowd watches Jake Owens perform Thursday during the first night of Country Crossings Music Festival in Central Point. [Mail Tribune / Andy Atkinson] Friday Jul 28, 2017 at 6:18 PM Jul 28, 2017 at 6:28 PM Buffy Pollock for the Mail Tribune Following mishaps during Thursday's opening of the four-day Country Crossings Music Festival in Central Point, organizers and local law enforcement agencies took to social media to assure festivalgoers that improvements were underway. Local businesses, private property owners and community organizations encouraged use of off-site parking to avoid a shuttle system that found some event patrons waiting up to three and four hours for rides on Thursday night. After headliner Jake Owens' concert, thousands of patrons waited in long lines for too-few buses to ferry them to campsites and parking lots. Facebook posts ranged from I-told-you-so to annoyed to outright irate. Festival organizers posted this message on social media Thursday night: “Hey y'all! We hear you — the shuttle situation wasn't good tonight and we are working our boots off to improve matters tomorrow with better bus frequency. We want to make sure it's all smooth for everyone! Thanks for your patience and hope you're looking forward to Luke Bryan and the rest of the artists on Friday. Y'all are the best.” The post yielded more than 500 comments, largely complaints over parking and shuttle issues and long lines for beer tickets. Sonya Sparks Niebling posted, “I won’t come back until you get this organized! And maybe never! Been standing in the bus for an hour and barely moved! And that’s not the only complaint! Travel all over the country for festivals … by far the most disappointing one so far!” James Skogan said he spent three hours in line “for some stupid drink tickets” to find out it was too late to get in line to buy a drink. Facebook member Jordana Kiel offered sympathy for festival organizers, applauding the multiple locations to purchase water and plentiful number of restrooms. Even still, Kiel said, “need a little work on shuttles.” By midday Friday, Country Crossings officials announced they were “working on better systems to have a much smoother exit” after performance by headliners Brett Eldridge and Luke Bryan. One change meant northbound Peninger Road was to close fully at 8 p.m., allowing bus and pedestrian traffic only. Additionally, 30 buses or shuttles were scheduled for Friday night instead of the 18 on hand Thursday night. Jackson County sheriff’s officials posted an official statement on their Facebook page thanking patrons for being patient and noting that additional road closures and patrol units would be on hand to assist with Friday night’s “exit.” Local residents offered solutions for festivalgoers hoping to avoid the shuttle system: parking space on their lots for those willing to walk a distance. Katie McClenathan, a property owner with a vacant lot across from Fair City Market, urged fans to utilize community parking areas to help local business. Some community sports and youth organizations also offered parking to raise money, including a pair of parking areas between Scenic Avenue and Crater High School. Prices range from $10 to $30 a day or $65 for the weekend; festival parking in White City cost $60 for the weekend. McClenathan said her lot offered cold water and even the courtesy of overnight parking for RVs and patrons who unexpectedly drank too much at the festival. “We have tons of cold bottled water and you can avoid the traffic and the shuttles,” she said. “We had lots of people (Thursday) night asking about our parking due to the long walk and the shuttle wait. We heard it was pretty bad. We are as close as you can get to the event, so we’re expecting to have a lot more cars today," McClenathan said on Friday. "I’m sure a lot of people will still use the shuttle system, but we’re here if people are looking for an easier option.” Reach freelance writer Buffy Pollock at [email protected].