Etihad Campus, Stadium and Collar Site Development Thread

[bobbyowenquiff]

It's the approach to the City that's the problem, especially for night matches. The M56 is awful from about J7 and doesn't improve until I come off at Whalley Range. The alternatives just aren't worth it for me, they cost too much are infrequent or just won't get me home without having to leave early. This is just a general problem with the Northern rail system more than anything else.

One big problem is that the trains finish too early at night matches to use a lot of park and ride facilities. For example the last train to Horwich Parkway goes before the match ends. Northern Rail is beyond a joke. It's easy to get around the central core of Manchester using public transport but not easy to get in from outer areas. It's amazing how easy it is to get in and out of Wembley via Wembley Stadium Station, much easier than the Etihad.

 

[NeilYoungIsBack]

I agree with the sentiment of the last few posts, especially about the quality of evening services to get us home after night games.

Such a small thing as putting KO times 15mins to 8pm causes problems because service frequency drops off after about 10pm.

We should join forces with MUFC fans to lobby the Mayor, Northern rail, anybody with influence to get a better deal for matchday travellers. The Rags have recently lost all services to the station serving their stadium because of "no spare capacity on the system". Ridiculous!

The North is the poor relation when it comes to rail services, but at least we wont have to put up with Pacers for much longer.

 

[NeilYoungIsBack]

It's the approach to the City that's the problem, especially for night matches. The M56 is awful from about J7 and doesn't improve until I come off at Whalley Range. The alternatives just aren't worth it for me, they cost too much are infrequent or just won't get me home without having to leave early. This is just a general problem with the Northern rail system more than anything else.

I use the Chester line train that passes through Runcorn East. For 7.45pm kick-offs I can catch the 10.12 train home from Piccadilly if I leave right on the final whistle but 8pm KOs give me no chance.

For 8pm KOs I've started driving to the park and ride at Newton-le-Willows as there's a train back at around 10.25 that I can make. Costs £7.80, parking is free and there are lots of spaces.

 

[asahartford1]

Thanks that's interesting. I didn't know that. There's a lot of buildings going up at the moment. The trouble is that it's difficult to know whether that reflects current demand, or expectations of demand, five years ago when constructions plans were first hatched. Manchester's construction cycle seems to go in boom and bust cycles.

I was thinking of my own past employers. CIS, Barclays Bank. I used to work off St Peters Sq for barclaycard, that's closed down now, and it's building lay empty for years in prime location. Now the building has been knocked down, and a new building is going up. Then I worked in a Co-op building off Portland St. That's being knocked down at the moment too! Latterly I worked at the CIS tower. When I started there were 3,000 people there. When I left there were about a 1,000 and most of the floors were empty. Over the road was New Century House (opposite Victoria Station) and that was half empty too. All my ex-manchester employers are all gone, or near but gone but it sounds like new small employers are taking their place

It sounds like when you join a company, it goes bust, I hope this is just coincidence -;

 

[spiny]

Manchester City centre is about 2km in diameter if you use the inner ring road as its circumference. That's a pin-prick compared to London.

I think car users have a problem on match-day travel because Manchester is being actively designed to counter car use. However if you live in Manchester and you don't have a car it's never been better.

Yes! This is the whole point.

Manchester city centre is small when compared to London but what options other than a circular light railway offers the same benefits of quickly shifting large numbers of people between key points avoiding traffic hold-ups? OK to walk if you are already in Manchester City Centre but what of those travelling from outside? A light railway would provide multiple connection points

It is the cheapest option to build and run with driverless trains already proven. A light railway can shift lots of people in both directions. Staffing at stations is only required. Buses and trams cannot cope with large concentrations of people because they are restricted by the roads and all require drivers. The days of buses lined up on Claremont Road are long gone.

Bangkok, Berlin, Chicago and many other cities and smaller towns have gone the overhead route. A circular light railway is a huge investment but no different to the Manchester Ship Canal in in its vision and potential impact.

I am familiar with the DLR and the benefits it has brought in connecting areas like East London and key points such as the Excel centre and London Airport as well as integrating into the London TfL system. A circular light railway is the only way of establishing Manchester as a global city with a transport infrastructure that gives an alternative to London with sufficient transport as a hub for the North of England.

A circular system would provide multiple access points and a way of shifting crowds as well as being viable even in times when there were no events. It requires poltitical will and the support from interested parties.

 

[FootballSense]

The City Effect - asking prices within 0.5 radius of the stadium have increased 55% since 2014 :

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/news/ar...tm_campaign=newsletterjune1&utm_content=spurs

City - great for football, great for Manchester.

 

[jrb]

Hopefully when these dreadful junction works are completed around the inner city ring road and Mancunian Way, getting to and from the Etihad will be easier?

 

[jrb]

Slightly off topic. But relevant. Great Ancoats Street is having a major refurb. This is what it will eventually look like all the way along it. Obviously this will cause more traffic disruption. Looks good though. :-)

 

[King KdB of Belgium]

The problem with the traffic is because as you say Marvin that they have narrow the roads to make room for cycle lanes, which I don't see why they have done that. Just last week I counted more cyclists using the pavement to ride on then on the road. The Lord Mayors of Manchester and Greater Manchester need to get their act together, and get some plans together to ease the traffic flow. This might mean getting those companies who run the busses and the trams to get them to put on more transport. Maybe even provide a fleet of buses, and bring the transport in house.

The issue with the buses can easily be solved by providing Alan Touring way with bus lanes, both ways. The bus lanes only need to be from Oldham Road to say either Ashton New Road 0r to Ashton Old Road. Then find somewhere for the buses to park and then at the final whistle let them park on Alan Touring way and when full of they go.

When the south stand expansion was being built I was talking to someone who was in McDonalds who showed me the plans for the new South Stand, and then said the North stand would be expanded in 2yrs time guess that went by the board. With more clubs now taking their capacity to over 60,000, it is now time to get the North stand expanded as soon as possible. I would like to see the North Stand expanded so that the capacity would go to somewhere around the 65,000 or maybe to 70,000. If this could be done. The club could then maybe for a season keep the cost of tickets the same as the previous season.

 

[Supersonic Blue]

Maybe this system would help congestion... lol

https://www.bing.com/images/search?...5*thid_OIP.iaDT6d1fiHF6PEQsTFN7dgHaFL&iss=VSI