Taylor mania snarls downtown traffic, disrupts courts

Fans at the Taylor Swift concert at Minute Maid Park on Sept. 9. Fans at the Taylor Swift concert at Minute Maid Park on Sept. 9. Photo: Jon Shapley, Houston Chronicle Photo: Jon Shapley, Houston Chronicle Image 1 of / 116 Caption Close Taylor mania snarls downtown traffic, disrupts courts 1 / 116 Back to Gallery

Standing in line outside Minute Maid Park, Riley Moncrief, 9, wasn't upset about the $60 price tag to park for Wednesday night's Taylor Swift concert.

"Whatever. I'm not paying for it," Riley said, too excited about the upcoming show to fret over mundane things.

Riley's mother, Jennifer Moncrief of Pearland, wasn't so philosophic about the parking dilemma.

"It's outrageous. But, you brought your kids so what are you going to do? You pay it," Moncrief said, as the line of frantic Taylor Swift fans inched forward.

"It's not nice that they're taking advantage. It's 'landsharking,'" Moncrief said, making up a word to describe parking lot fees hiked up for major events.

To see the steep prices for parking around downtown Houston, add the Chronicle on Snapchat @houstonchron.

$80 parking at the Taylor Swift concert! We've seen prices ranging $40 to $80. @abc13houston @taylorswift13 pic.twitter.com/UJyWTFtPn9 — Charles Fisher (@NewsCameraFish) September 9, 2015

The prices for private parking spots around Minute Maid Park were as high as $80, a price tag many Taylor Swift fans were willing to pay.

"It's worth it," Heather Razo said of the $80 parking fee. "It's right across the street and I'm not walking."

Some concertgoers opted for a ride in a pedal cab while others jumped out of chauffeur-driven limousines directly in front of the ball park.

A concert by one of the world's top pop stars in downtown Houston coinciding with evening rush hour traffic was a recipe for traffic gridlock.

Local district courts shut down early after jurors who were not able to park in surface lots near Minute Maid were told they'd have their cars towed or face steep parking rates.

District Judge Ryan Patrick, who is presiding over the punishment phase of a murder case, said he sent jurors home early Wednesday because of the concert.

"This is the first time a concert has ever caused me to cut a jury loose early," Patrick said. "Parking is a mess and traffic is terrible."

Theresa Babcock and her family came from Corpus Christi to see the Taylor Swift concert. They spotted several private lots with jacked-up prices that demanded cash but all they had with them were credit cards.

"We thought, 'No way!'" Babcock said. "It's ridiculous."

Then, they spotted a city-owned lot that charged $20 and even accepted credit cards.

"We'll take the city lot over the private lot any day," Babcock said while family members stopped to take a picture of Taylor Swift's image on one of many 18-wheeler trucks behind the ballpark.

Megan Berger shelled out $50 for a concert parking spot.

"What can you do? I bought the tickets in December," Berger said. "It's fun. It's an experience."

Brad Fike stood out among the screaming Taylor fans by wearing a Nirvana T-shirt.

"We both like Taylor Swift but next week we're going to a punk show," Fike said.

Fike and his girlfriend, Sarah Brooks, didn't worry about the pricey parking near Minute Maid Park. They found a spot about five blocks away that cost them only $10.

"We're adults. We can walk," he said.

St. John Barned-Smith contributed to this report.