The End of on Street Parking within walking distance of the Etihad

[dickie davies]

I’m going to contact the Council ombudsman tomorrow to see if I can register a complaint with them, on the grounds of lack of alternative provision

https://www.lgo.org.uk/

www.lgo.org.uk

Quoting my own post
Until Manchester council has considered a complaint the ombudsman won’t look at it, so we have to complain to MCC first

 

[Jazzyblue]

One of the many many problems with councils is that they spend our money going on junkets to California or Barcelona or wherever and these gullible under qualified fools see a shiny happy population cycling / roller blading / electric scootering around the place and think they’ve found a solution. They don’t consider the investment needed over many years to create a culture and an integrated system that facilitates easy non car travel they just think ooooh won’t this be good in Manchester

Bang on. Football, the arena and residents' concerns are just an excuse. The bottom line is, motorists get in the way of the utopian/authoritarian 'zero carbon' vision Manchester City Council has for the city, and making life more difficult for drivers is a revenue driver for them through fines, permits etc.

Meanwhile, there is a group of relatively affluent and vocal people living in the city centre who don't like motorists, and they have the ear of the council.

Over the next few years, if the council and the overlapping city centre residents/cycling lobbies get their way, we're likely to see: cheap independent car parking vanish from the city centre; Great Ancoats Street taken off the ring road with Deansgate style restrictions; an expansion of the 'city centre' out to Holt Town; a ULEZ type scheme back on the agenda; residents' parking schemes anywhere they can get away with putting them; more low traffic neighbourhoods in the suburbs. Manchester will take the lead and the two other central authorities - Trafford and Salford - will fall in line.

If I use the GMPTE route planner from the Etihad it will throw up all sorts of convoluted walking and cycling routes as well as tram, because the council is clearly trying to nudge people out of their car and into getting fit as well as meet its zero-carbon goals by 2038.

My area is well-served for tram lines to be fair, but it ain't that simple. Matchdays I've got three affordable choices, like a lot of us. Drive to the streets near Phillips Park cemetery - where NO-ONE lives and leave the car. Try and get a patchy tram service all the way to the ground (and hope there isn't a crushing incident) or get the tram to town and walk.

What they really want is for us to do the third - and the club seems to be supportive of this with the 'march the match' initiative or whatever it's called. Fine if you have your health, but we do not have the reliable public transport system to support it, and it will make life more difficult for many older Blues and those with mobility issues.

 

[jrb]

I used to drive to the matches and stil do for night matches. For weekend matches I catch the 192 into town, have a pint or two in town, and catch the tram early doors to the Etihad. Up to now it hasn’t been too bad. Tapping in and out with my debit card and always getting a seat or having plenty of standing room. After the match I get a bus which is waiting opposite the South stand. 10 minutes later I’m in town again. I can’t complain about that service.

 

[Vic]

Basically would have to park in droylsden now and walk the rest of the way. Unbelievable

Or £2 on the bus. (Maybe a long wait on the return)

 

[Jacko1956]

They’re Maine rd ‘look after your car mate’ rates

9

As the council benefit from a percentage of crowd receipts up to 35k they'll still be ok whatever they do.

City need to suggest some sort of pull out of the regeneration of the area to get some leverage on this or are we actually in favour on the quiet as it'll mean more tourists who are worth much more per head than us legacy monsters?

No longer the case City and the council scrapped that payment when our new owners took over we now pay a yearly fee that we negotiated with the council !

 

[Vic]

There is decent parking at Ashton Moss metrolink Station. From there you can hop on a tram to the Etihad. You may have to queue to get the tram back for 20-30 minutes but quite a lot do that. Alternatively park up at Guide Bridge Station and get a train to Asburys which is a 15 minute walk to the stadium. In both cases you will be very close to the M60 and you would avoid traffic queues once you are back in the car.

From what I've seen there's not much of queue for the trams back to Ashton, but they're only every 12 mins. If they can get past the idiots who get halfway across the track at the Holt Town junction and can't get any further. (I think they may now be stopping the ligts on red.)

 

[Nickyweaves]

I see both sides. I live near Old Trafford cricket ground and within walking distance of Old Toilet. Match days are a nightmare for resident parking. Across from me is a narrow side road which is permit only. Both sets of fans ignore the restrictions and park both sides of the road. There does not seem to be any enforcement.
I am not sure how an ambulance or fire engine would ever get down there in an emergency. Maybe MCC will ignore the new restrictions after an initial period. Of course, the difference is that Trafford Council love the rags and Lancs. I hate them both.
Going to the Etihad is playing sardines with total strangers. Coming home I have started using Central Park Tram station. The East Disbury line passes with 12 minutes of my house.

 

[Academica]

My old man's the same. Saturday / Sunday afternoon isn't too bad but night matches will be an issue. I know for sure my dad will knock night matches on the head - he's in his 70's and I don't live locally any more. To be honest, it might make me think twice particularly for night games. The blue car park is a joke, if you can even get on it, and car parks near the ground are going to be at a premium. They've either not thought this through or they just don't give a shit. I can't understand what the problem is with Riverpark Road area

Riverpark Rd there is not one resident, so match days it will just be completely empty.

 

[CatMan]

I think the Pandemic gave a worrying insight into how football without fans or just limited corporate attendees, may be the way these modern business based profiteering clubs might like the game to go!

Look at the benefits:

Zero Stewarding cost
Zero Policing cost
Zero Matchday employee cost
Zero Liability Insurance cost
Existing Car Parks to 24/7 Hotels
Huge revenue for seating adverts

Ultimately City realise that the same 50,000 tight arse Mancunians turning up 19 times a season is not the lucrative honey pot that other business models may be. If they are to maintain fans, they want day trippers spending £100 each and who are prepared to suffer travel difficulties. For this reason alone they won't be bothered if people surrender Season Tickets due to persistent travel chaos as long as they can make up that money and more elsewhere.

The reality is that we have to accept that modern football is more about being a TV event than a live spectator sport, and therefore the historical matchday fan, is currently fighting an existential crisis without even realising so!

 

[Stockton Heath Blue]

I think the Pandemic gave a worrying insight into how football without fans or just limited corporate attendees, may be the way these modern business based profiteering clubs might like the game to go!

Look at the benefits:

Zero Stewarding cost
Zero Policing cost
Zero Matchday employee cost
Zero Liability Insurance cost
Existing Car Parks to 24/7 Hotels
Huge revenue for seating adverts

Ultimately City realise that the same 50,000 tight arse Mancunians turning up 19 times a season is not the lucrative honey pot that other business models may be. If they are to maintain fans, they want day trippers spending £100 each. For this reason alone they won't be bothered if people surrender Season Tickets due to persistent travel chaos as long as they can make up that money and more elsewhere.

The reality is that we have to accept that modern football is more about being TV event than a live spectator sport and therefore the historical matchday fan is currently fighting an existential crisis without even realising so!

It's getting beyond a joke now. We all know what's going to happen. I originally parked on Blue car park when you could add it on to your season card. When that stopped, I started to park on Vermillion for £5, then all of a sudden it became £10. Now I can afford it, but there are plenty that can't, and this will be the straw that breaks the camel's back.
Mine is a 50-mile round trip, and I'm fucked if I'm going to start pissing around on public transport, especially for midweek games.
The point MCC don't appear to grasp, is that not all of the 54,000 fans live within the boundaries of M/cr, and travelling by car is the only viable option for some.