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US Open Security Lines Move Smoother After Tweaks

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- The security lines at the US Open were looking better Tuesday than they did a day earlier, but now parking is a problem, WCBS 880's Marla Diamond reported.

After tennis fans complained about waiting up to two hours to get into the tournament in Flushing on Monday, the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing had more personnel at the entry gates, which opened a half-hour earlier.

"Not a problem," said Omero Rios, of Westbury. "Pretty smooth for so many people. I believe they are doing a great job."

US Open Security Lines Move Smoother After Tweaks

Meanwhile, parking spots were hard to come by. Citi Field is not open to US Open spectators because the Mets are in the middle of a three-game home stand.

"They kept riding us around and riding us around, and we were like, 'I don't know. Are we in the Hamptons?' " Gerri Stengel, of Montclair, N.J., said of her party's search for parking.

MOREUS Open Security Policy | Photos from US Open Day 2 | US Open Guide

The USTA had already limited the size and number of bags fans can bring into the tennis center. It had been considering adding metal detectors even before the Boston Marathon in April, when bombs killed three people near the finish line.

USTA spokesman Chris Widmaier said the USTA now has what it calls "airport-type security," with the metal detectors and the use of wands to check spectators who set off the detectors. Fans don't need to take off shoes or belts.

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