PIGEON FORGE, Tenn. — For years, Rod Run has drawn crowds along the Parkway in Pigeon Forge. The classic cars and different displays can be exciting for tourists.
"It's just a place where people get together and show off their cars and socialize together," Chris Scheiding said. "That's what it's supposed to be."
But recently, he and other people in Sevier County have expressed safety concerns over the event.
"The first few years I experienced it, I liked it a lot," said Jason Cimbolo. "Now, it just seems like it's too much."
Pigeon Forge police said they were investigating after a shooting at a gas station in Pigeon Forge during Rod Run weekend.
From Thursday, April 15 to Sunday, April 18, PFPD issued 390 citations and 187 warnings. That's more than 10 times the number of citations issued the weekend before (34) and roughly 4 times the number of warnings (37).
"I live 15 minutes from work and it took me three hours to work every day," Cimbolo said. "I'm used to lots of heavy traffic, but the traffic this time was just unlike I've seen it before."
For some businesses, all that traffic meant fewer people coming in.
"Rod Run weekend was our slowest weekend that we've had in two months," Journee Clouse, a caricature artist at the PF Island said. "Fridays and Saturdays are typically our busiest days of the week, non-stop open to close. I think I might have done like three drawings last weekend."
She started a petition to end Rod Runs, which already has nearly 6,500 signatures. She also made her case to Pigeon Forge commissioners Monday night.
Roughly 7 to 8 people spoke at the meeting, some for ending the event and others against it. Some complained of large, rowdy crowds in the city.
Commissioners set a meeting for Wednesday, May 5 at 3:30 p.m. to hold a workshop on the event.
"It's part of standing up for what you believe in," she said. "I want everybody to know that whether they support this or they do not support it to come out to the city council and talk about it."