Coachella 2024: Festivalgoers upset with new four-people-per-car day parking requirement

If you're planning to drive to the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in April, you better plan to have at least four people in your car — or prepare to face an obstacle upon arriving at the Empire Polo Club.

Historically, day parking was always first-come, first served, and anyone with a festival wristband could hop in your car.

This year, Los Angeles promoter Goldenvoice, the owner and operator of the festival, is instituting a new parking policy admitting only vehicles with four or more passengers into day parking parking with no exceptions. Everyone in the vehicle must show a valid wristband and have a corresponding decal (which will be given to pass holders when they obtain their wristband) on the windshield. Cars with less than four decals will be directed to park at a nearby off-site location.

This policy does not apply to the Stagecoach country music festival.

What if I'm camping at Coachella?

The restriction is not applicable to those with a camping companion pass or ADA parking with required and valid credentials in their name.

What if I'm coming with a smaller group?

Not able to come up with three other people to carpool with? Shuttle passes with pickup and dropoff locations throughout the Coachella Valley are available at $140.

This new change to day lot parking has agitated many passholders who are confused on the logistics and questioning the rationale on social media.

Has Coachella had parking issues in the past?

Festivalgoers have long endured parking and traffic issues before, during and after Coachella and the Stagecoach country music festivals. It can take an hour or more to exit the lot off Monroe St. and Avenue 49 (yellow lot).

In October during the first day of the one-off metal festival Power Trip, parking for those who tried to get into the day lots found it difficult due to the traffic (our own photographer nearly ran out of gas in the middle of Miles Avenue because traffic controlers forced him to circle the venue so many times).

With some 100,000 in attendance at the music festival during both weekends, the east valley roads and Interstate 10 are choked with vehicles starting trips back west the following Monday morning. Goldenvoice has long promoted carpooling to the festival and encourages attendees to decorate their vehicles with the tag "Carpoolchella" for a chance to win VIP upgrades.

Desert Sun reporter Brian Blueskye covers arts and entertainment. He can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter at @bblueskye.

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Coachella 2024: Festivalgoers upset with new day parking requirement