The Capital City will be heaving this weekend – with huge crowds expected for Eminem on Saturday and the Newtown Festival on Sunday. The message for motorists is – either leave your car at home or expect delays if you’re crossing the city.

Some 45,000 fans will be at the Eminem gig at the Westpac Stadium tomorrow and an estimated 90,000 people usually turn up for the Newtown Festival when the weather’s good (and the forecast for Sunday is excellent).

Thousands of university students are also in town for Orientation Week – many of them will be finding their way around the city for the first time.

Motorists – especially those heading to the Airport – are advised to think about adding an hour or more to their scheduled travel time to avoid missing a flight. The Airport itself is expecting 70 more flights over the weekend than this time last year – so the roads around the Airport will be busier than normal for a weekend.

Wellington City Council Infrastructure Manager Siobhan Procter says there will be the usual extensive road closures in Newtown for most of Sunday to make room for the festival – “so Newtown is best avoided if you’re trying to get somewhere in a hurry”.

Siobhan advises people heading to the Airport on Sunday to consider heading through Brooklyn and taking the long route around the south coast to avoid the worst of the congestion.

She asks motorists to take extra care too. “There’ll be a lot of out of towners in the central city over the weekend and a lot of them will be preoccupied and unfamiliar with our streets.

“Keep your speed down and keep your eyes peeled in case a pedestrian makes a wrong move – we want this weekend to be memorable for all the right reasons.”

Safety is paramount so there will be some street and parking restrictions around heavy populated areas. There will also be road closures around Courtenay Place from 8pm on Saturday 2 March until 4.30am on Sunday 3 March.

If at all possible, leave your car at home and take public transport. Check out metlink.org.nz for public transport information.

For more information about road closures due to events: wcc.govt.nz/eventroadclosures

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