Etihad Campus, Stadium and Collar Site Development Thread

[Manchester33]

The problem with transport in Manchester is that we don't use it as much as we should, for a number of reasons.

Take my girlfriend as an example, we live literally 10 seconds away from a bus stop that could take her within a 2 minute walk away from her office. She won't use it because she doesn't like having to get the bus (because she's a snob) and it comes to infrequently. There is a train that's a 5 minute drive with a free car park, she won't use that because it costs more then parking outside her office. The tram car park is ALWAYS full and also expensive. The simplest thing to do is drive. Throw into that the uncertainty of using public transport and it's just easier to drive.

I live 4 miles away from my office, I keep toying with the idea of cycling in, but because of the major roads I'm put off doing it. There are no safe alternatives I could use (and to put it bluntly I'm not an experienced cyclist). There are no bus, train or tram routes between where I live and work that are cost effective compared to the couple of pounds I spend on petrol a day.

There's two cars on the road straight away that cheaper public transport WOULD have cleared.

When you consider the sheer number of people who live in places like Sale, Altrincham, Timperley, Wythenshawe, Stretford, Old Trafford, Urmston etc that have direct transport to the city center, that don't use it - it's no wonder everywhere is gridlocked! I don't think the answer is necessarily to increase and improve the infrastructure, I think we'd see better results if people were made aware of the routes and the public transport was made considerably cheaper. Realistically, if you could get a return journey on a bus for £2 I'd use it, but I'm not paying 3/4/5 quid when I can drive for less! Public transport is trendy in Europe because it's cheap and frequent.

 

[Deleted member 58678]

Seriously doubt the second city crossing is worth a wank. I'm no expert but surely we've gotta do better with transport to and from the stadium? Is the train line a definite no go?

It's not just to and from Town to the stadium, it's the whole city. For a 2.7m conurbation our transport network must be one of the very worst per head of population in the developed world. It's desperately poor.

 

[Wilf Wild 1937]

It's not just to and from Town to the stadium, it's the whole city. For a 2.7m conurbation our transport network must be one of the very worst per head of population in the developed world. It's desperately poor.

I live in Cheadle and, like a number of other places, it's a transport blackspot.

The trams end in East Didsbury as do most of the buses and unlike Cheadle Hulme, Gatley or East Didsbury there is no train station.

Buses run every half hour into town during the day but it's every hour in the evening and bugger all, like just about everywhere else, during the night. It's a joke that one of the largest cities in Europe has such poor transport infrastructure.

 

[ped]

I live in Cheadle and, like a number of other places, it's a transport blackspot.

The trams end in East Didsbury as do most of the buses and unlike Cheadle Hulme, Gatley or East Didsbury there is no train station.

Buses run every half hour into town during the day but it's every hour in the evening and bugger all, like just about everywhere else, during the night. It's a joke that one of the largest cities in Europe has such poor transport infrastructure.

its a bug bear of mine that we do not have a underground,and all the excuses dont cut it ,have you seen the hurdles that were overcome to build londons cross rail ,there is no money or political will for it as it isnt london,

 

[blueyorkie]

Maybe someone is plagiarising it? Best check up.

Yes will do, I got a bollocking for calling it Picc Vic are we on the right lines. Was told it was flippant, didn't realise that 40 odd years later they would still be fannying about with it. Could have sorted it in the 70's for a fraction of the cost. Would have not taken an hour to get away from the Etihad!! Got it right at the swamp, it clears in 10 minutes, particularly when the 4th,5th & 6th go in!!!

 

[west didsblue]

I've said this myself, what about a shuttle service between Victoria and Ashburys or Belle Vue on match days or when concerts are on, stopping at a new stadium rail station, it could connect with services to the east at Ashburys, and services to the north at Victoria. Also isn't the old Park station not that far, ie in walking distance, and couldn't that be reopened ?

There's also a disused viaduct that could be used to reconnect the line next to the stadium to Piccadilly. It would just need a new bridge over Ashton Old Road. Can't be that difficult to do.

 

[r.soleofsalford]

its a bug bear of mine that we do not have a underground,and all the excuses dont cut it ,have you seen the hurdles that were overcome to build londons cross rail ,there is no money or political will for it as it isnt london,

correct 15 billion spend on cross rail, 5 billions spent on the thames valley express, new rolling stock for the tube system, loads of other south west expenditure


and we get a poxy tram ffs

 

[Cheadle_hulmeBlue]

I live in Cheadle and, like a number of other places, it's a transport blackspot.

The trams end in East Didsbury as do most of the buses and unlike Cheadle Hulme, Gatley or East Didsbury there is no train station.

Buses run every half hour into town during the day but it's every hour in the evening and bugger all, like just about everywhere else, during the night. It's a joke that one of the largest cities in Europe has such poor transport infrastructure.

i understand what you mean, but you could easily walk to didsbury tram stop or get the bus up to cheadle hulme train station. if you can't do that a taxi up the road is only a few quid. I think cheadle/cheadle hulme is great for transport to manchester. you can get the bus/tram or train and get there quite quickly. i get the bus to uni (mmu) near enough every day and get there no problem. failing that on a match day there is a bullocks bus that goes right through cheadle straight to the eithad. i dont know your situation though mate

 

[Wilf Wild 1937]

i understand what you mean, but you could easily walk to didsbury tram stop or get the bus up to cheadle hulme train station. if you can't do that a taxi up the road is only a few quid. I think cheadle/cheadle hulme is great for transport to manchester. you can get the bus/tram or train and get there quite quickly. i get the bus to uni (mmu) near enough every day and get there no problem. failing that on a match day there is a bullocks bus that goes right through cheadle straight to the eithad. i dont know your situation though mate

Funnily enough I do get the Bullock's bus to The Etihad for every match! Really for me that's the only real option other than driving myself there which as we all know is a bit of a nightmare for night games. The bus sets off from Bramhall 2 hours before kick off (1 hour 45 minutes from Cheadle) and typically arrives outside The Etihad with about 20 minutes to spare for night games which I suppose shows how congested the roads are.

 

[Cheadle_hulmeBlue]

Funnily enough I do get the Bullock's bus to The Etihad for every match! Really for me that's the only real option other than driving myself there which as we all know is a bit of a nightmare for night games. The bus sets off from Bramhall 2 hours before kick off (1 hour 45 minutes from Cheadle) and typically arrives outside The Etihad with about 20 minutes to spare for night games which I suppose shows how congested the roads are.

aha yea the bullocks bus is a bit of a pain, but its a good way to get there. Do you know anyone called pauline on the bus? I've taken it with her a few times ( my auntie). driving isn't to bad, i usually drive through burnage and park at astley ? train station, which has free parking. id rather get the train or tram then the bus though

 

[Wilf Wild 1937]

aha yea the bullocks bus is a bit of a pain, but its a good way to get there. Do you know anyone called pauline on the bus? I've taken it with her a few times ( my auntie). driving isn't to bad, i usually drive through burnage and park at astley ? train station, which has free parking. id rather get the train or tram then the bus though

I've sent you a pm with more info.

 

[SilverFox2]

Are we saying that the constraint to extending the Etihad or building a new stadium is the inability of the Manchester transport system to accommodate the volume of traffic ? Perhaps our owner or ADUG are waiting for the newer modes of transport currently being constructed coming to fruition or maybe trying to twist the arm of British Rail for a rail station before committing yet more funds for long term financial gain.

Maybe times have changed but an even more archaic system used to digest large crowds yesteryear at Maine Road.

 

[Tim of the Oak]

Are we saying that the constraint to extending the Etihad or building a new stadium is the inability of the Manchester transport system to accommodate the volume of traffic ? Perhaps our owner or ADUG are waiting for the newer modes of transport currently being constructed coming to fruition or maybe trying to twist the arm of British Rail for a rail station before committing yet more funds for long term financial gain.

Maybe times have changed but an even more archaic system used to digest large crowds yesteryear at Maine Road.

That was before The Voice, X Factor and Britain's Got talent!

 

[SilverFox2]

That was before The Voice, X Factor and Britain's Got talent!

It was certainly before our main support came from from a more local population.

A recent visit to the UK made a stopover in A U L necessary and the morning breakfast tables were full of foreign MUFC supporters parked up at the hotel preparing to travel across town to OT. No doubt a direct tram would help them so conversely hotels on the other sides of Manchester would have the same ability for City supporters.

 

[Marvin]

Are we saying that the constraint to extending the Etihad or building a new stadium is the inability of the Manchester transport system to accommodate the volume of traffic ? Perhaps our owner or ADUG are waiting for the newer modes of transport currently being constructed coming to fruition or maybe trying to twist the arm of British Rail for a rail station before committing yet more funds for long term financial gain.

Maybe times have changed but an even more archaic system used to digest large crowds yesteryear at Maine Road.

It wasn't archaic then. And people walked. Oxford Rd from the MRI onwards - a four lane major arterial road into Manchester - is about to become bus and bike only in the City Centre. Carrot and stick to get people out of cars into buses, onto bikes etc. It looks truly bizarre to have a 4 lane road almost empty. Radical solution that suits green agenda and a govt that has no money.

 

[west didsblue]

correct 15 billion spend on cross rail, 5 billions spent on the thames valley express, new rolling stock for the tube system, loads of other south west expenditure


and we get a poxy tram ffs

Has London been moved to Devon?

 

[BrianW]

Unfortunately we will never get what London gets. If you could throw the same billions at the transport system of Greater Manchester it would be relatively easy to solve all the problems. As it is, the people in charge have to manage with much less, and they struggle. They also make mistakes.

It's vicious circle. Until you radically improve public transport there's a large group who will always prefer their cars. And as long as a large group prefer their cars, it's hard to improve public transport.

Having said that, we have seen improvements, because the tram system, for all its faults, is an improvement, and the re-regulation of buses will help. A bit. It's just that we're still a long way off perfection, and what we have now does not cope with (among other things) City's crowds. Add another 10,000 to the crowds and the chaos will be worse, unless something radical is done. I don't think you have to be a visionary to see that.

 

[NeilYoungIsBack]

Maybe we could offer up East Manchester as a test bed for Chinese monster buses...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-36390419

 

[r.soleofsalford]

Has London been moved to Devon?

EAST



8-}

 

[SilverFox2]

It wasn't archaic then. And people walked. Oxford Rd from the MRI onwards - a four lane major arterial road into Manchester - is about to become bus and bike only in the City Centre. Carrot and stick to get people out of cars into buses, onto bikes etc. It looks truly bizarre to have a 4 lane road almost empty. Radical solution that suits green agenda and a govt that has no money.

I was certainly not saying we have progressed merely that the volume of people who got themselves to Maine Road for exactly the same time seemed to do so without too much trouble.
Times have changed and perhaps we demand a lot more than just to watch the game these days.

Roads were at best double lane but around the ground single lane only and buses were mainly used for anything above walking distance. Surely we still walk from our parking spots today don´t we ?