In addition to creating dedicated space for buses on any day, it is especially important to mitigate the impact of one-time or occasional traffic congestion that we can foresee (parades, concerts, sports events, etc.). The traffic created by these events makes bus service slow and unpredictable, removing a powerful incentive attendees would otherwise have to use transit, which in turn creates more unnecessary traffic. During a recent evening parade in Minneapolis, bus routes experienced major delays as many thousands of people drove cars downtown. But there was one exception: buses using the 4th Street contraflow bus lane ran right on schedule.