Shake the Lake’s second year features new additions, traffic changes

As Shake the Lake brought food, fun and fireworks to the shores of Lake Monona for the second year Saturday, organizers made changes with the hope of making traffic flow a little smoother.

Crews closed part of John Nolen Drive Saturday morning in preparation for the event. Shake the Lake, which replaced the Rhythm & Booms celebration, is put on by the Madison Mallards baseball team.

Mallards General Manager Tyler Isham said staff learned from traffic issues at last year’s inaugural event and hoped that a new parking system would make for a smoother entry and exit.

“We’ve worked with all the local ramp owners in town to actually do a pay-upon-entry instead of exits,” Isham said. “We think that’s really going to help the flow of traffic after the event tonight and really help people get out of here quicker.”

A new traffic plan wasn’t the only change for year two, though.

“We have a lot more food vendors, so there’s a lot more options for people, beer venues, extra staff,” Isham said. “We’ve increased the fireworks show, so it’s going to be even bigger.”

Shake the Lake also featured an additional music stage this year.