TRURO - Parking at the new Rath Eastlink Community Centre did not cause as many headaches as some people anticipated on Saturday night.
Thousands attended the Maritime Junior Hockey League game between the Truro Bearcats and Halifax Shipbuilders at the RECC. The opening night of the centre drew hundreds of people to the site by 6 p.m. It's estimated that at about that time, an hour ahead of game time, the parking lot was full and motorists were then directed to the Colchester East Hants Health Centre parking lot across the street.
Less than 30 minutes after the puck was scheduled to drop, about four or five cars were lined along Abenaki Road alongside the Veterans Memorial Highway next to the exit leaving the highway.
Despite the packed accommodations, people in the long lineups waiting to get in the building, and leaving at the end of the night, said there were no major concerns.
"It went smoothly ... no problems," said one person in the lineup before the game.
"This was much better than I expected," added another.
After the game, Truro Police was on hand to direct traffic. Overall, the vehicles moved efficiently without incident.
mchiasson@trurodaily.com
Twitter: @tdnmonique
