is stadium expansion under jeopardy

[Tory Boy]

There are simply not enough buses to deal with the amount of people after the game.

People will not wait just because they are told to by the club.

Unless more buses are available to more pick up points fans will get the other halfs to pick them up.

TB

 

[perseus]

Any trouble between so called fans could jeopardise any Planning Permission.

 

[les dynam]

would it help if B&H Buses ran a '25 football special' which ran from Palmeira Square, Churchill Square, Old Steine, St Peters Church, couple of stops on the Lewes Road, then fast to the stadium (the usual 25 route, but with less stops to speed it up).

I think if there were, say, 10 of these lined up along the bus stop by the A27 after the game, so people knew they could get straight on one and away, this might help things a bit. Just to give people another quick and easy exit option.

 

[brightn'ove]

There are simply not enough buses to deal with the amount of people after the game.

People will not wait just because they are told to by the club.

Unless more buses are available to more pick up points fans will get the other halfs to pick them up.

TB

Odd thing I have noticed actually, it has seemed like b&h buses have been training a hell of a lot of new staff recently I can think of at least 6 journeys I've been on recently where the driver was obviously new and was being trained

Perhaps they are planning to increase the amount of routes, possibly to the stadium, after all they stand to make great profits from thousands of eager punters waiting to get away.

Of course this is all blind speculation

 

[Samej]

was at a dinner last night and speaking to a councilor,i asked opinions on the transport issues to the Amex, apparently the viewpoint is that cars trains park and ride etc etc are all issues that can be improved with traffic management and no one really expects the club or other parties to get it perfect from the outset however it was mentioned that the worst and most worrying issue for the council was the growing trend of people using the A27 dual carriage way as a drop off point, which is causing huge snarl ups and is potentially an accident waiting to happen.

does anyone know if this could really cause the council to reject any planning permission for expansion

Yes this would give Lewes council grounds for objection,if BR do not provide more trains after the evening games we will not get permision to extend the seating capacity of our ground.

 

[Publius Ovidius]

everybody knows the main issue at Falmer is the Bennet's Field, which was never intended to be a car park, its f***ed up the a27, the busses, the slip road to the UNI.

i would have thought any application for extra seats has zero chance

 

[Weststander]

Is someone seriously saying, that catering Queue's will effect expansion.

Agreed and:
The corners and upper tier would have additional catering.
Why would the Club miss an opportunity for more revenue.

Transport would be the only challenge.

 

[Weststander]

Psssst. I have a solution, put some more carriages on the trains and that will reduce the waiting time on the stations.

Moaning about buying a pie isn't in my eyes that big an issue.

Agreed, but weren't we told only 4 carriage trains can stop at Falmer, due to tiny platform length?

 

[The_Real_SussexSeagull123]

Of all the things that might impact expansion I'd have thought that dealing with cars hanging about on A27 would have been the easiest

agree

 

[Barrel of Fun]

everybody knows the main issue at Falmer is the Bennet's Field, which was never intended to be a car park, its f***ed up the a27, the busses, the slip road to the UNI.

i would have thought any application for extra seats has zero chance

I would have thought the drop off/drop and kiss in the layby is the major issue. Not a car park that will not be emptied if not wise to do so.

 

[Mr Burns]

That simply isn't always the case. All too often, people jump out just as the queue is about to start moving again. It causes delays. That sliproad is NOT a valid drop off area.

Too be fair though, its hardly going to delay anyone any further is it? Everytime the queue starts is stops again. Off course it is NOT a valid drop off area, but it DOESN'T delay the traffic in te slightest.

 

[Barrel of Fun]

Too be fair though, its hardly going to delay anyone any further is it? Everytime the queue starts is stops again. Off course it is NOT a valid drop off area, but it DOESN'T delay the traffic in te slightest.

Would that car be on the road at that time, if they didn't have someone to drop off?

 

[Alex Alex Dawson oo! oo!]

I would have thought the drop off/drop and kiss in the layby is the major issue. Not a car park that will not be emptied if not wise to do so.

I think DtG is referring to the apparent chaos that the operation of Bennett's Field C/P and the 650 cars cause on the surrounding roads, not a post-match 1901 bumper car demonstration. Some disruption to existing traffic flows was predicted by the club's transport consultants in the BF planning application but they assumed (or were told) that the arriving and leaving BP traffic would be staggered over a period of time (hrs) and concluded that disruption at the intersection and Village Way could be managed. It seems to me that, at evening games, large amounts of car traffic for the stadium (ie mostly BF car park) is actually arriving right in the middle of the rush hour together with the P&R buses (start at 17.30) and all the coaches - ie the consultants' assumption/brief is incorrect.
Hopefully things will improve when the road and Village Way traffic light changes are completed at the end of the month but I'm not holding my breath.
Negative though it sounds I'm with Dave on this and don't think an extension application has a cat in hells chance until the transport arrangements for 22,500 are shown to be working satisfactorily and in accordance with the conditions under which the stadium planning consent was granted.

 

[Lush]

Too be fair though, its hardly going to delay anyone any further is it? Everytime the queue starts is stops again. Off course it is NOT a valid drop off area, but it DOESN'T delay the traffic in te slightest.

Whether or not people are being dropped off safely, there are still a lot of cars and taxis that have set off with the ultimate aim of "dropping off as close to the stadium as possible", thus increasing the amount of traffic on the A27 and slowing down the buses and car park traffic. It would be good if an alternative dropping off place could be identified.

 

[CheeseRolls]

I was forced into a drop off situation last Friday and arrived 5 minutes before kick off. I turned off the A27 at the Hollingdean/Ditchling exit and went around Stanmer park. There was a convenient layby just before Sussex University and I am not convinced I delayed anyone, specifically by dropping off this way.

I would have thought that pick ups after the game were far more of a problem really and I got the bus home so not guilty on that count.

 

[Green Cross Code Man]

Whether or not people are being dropped off safely, there are still a lot of cars and taxis that have set off with the ultimate aim of "dropping off as close to the stadium as possible", thus increasing the amount of traffic on the A27 and slowing down the buses and car park traffic. It would be good if an alternative dropping off place could be identified.

In the past couple of games there have been an increasing number of fans being dropped off in the university grounds. That can't be right can it?

 

[Brovion]

I was forced into a drop off situation last Friday and arrived 5 minutes before kick off. I turned off the A27 at the Hollingdean/Ditchling exit and went around Stanmer park. There was a convenient layby just before Sussex University and I am not convinced I delayed anyone, specifically by dropping off this way.

I would have thought that pick ups after the game were far more of a problem really and I got the bus home so not guilty on that count.

I've never been dropped off, but I've been picked up several times by the entrance to Stanmer Park. It's at most a ten minute walk from the stadium (and I'm not the fastest walker these days) and my wife says there's been no delays getting there, and we have none getting back (she turns round in the park entrance and we go back to the traffic lights by the new flyover).

 

[Bold Seagull]

The application hasn't actually been submitted yet, or at least is not registered.

 

[dejavuatbtn]

I think the most ridiculous thing I saw on Friday was some guy with a BHA plate parked for the match in a layby on the by-pass between Lewes Road and Coldean, facing west. He must have got out and walked down the dual carriageway to the game.
I posted previously about the potential problems of pick up outside Falmer Station. I think the whole thing is worse for evening games as people want to get home as early as possible - with more and more evening games scheduled it will not improve unless the law start booking people. Imagine the middle of winter with snow and ice on the road etc. People will get killed.
The pick up post match in Village Way has improved a bit as stewards and police are attempting to move people on. There was a notification in the Argus last week of by laws preventing people from stopping the Falmer area. People double parked here just make it harder for buses and coaches getting away from the ground.
Taxi drivers are letting people out of their cabs in the middle of the road, they are butting into the traffic queues, pissing people off. I'd ban taxis as well until a decent drop off point is identified.
I have a lot of sympathy for the local residents and people working in the area who are getting severely delayed going about their normal business.
Yeah - I think there is still a lot to do before I can see the council agreeing to our expansion.

 

[Simster]

Too be fair though, its hardly going to delay anyone any further is it? Everytime the queue starts is stops again. Off course it is NOT a valid drop off area, but it DOESN'T delay the traffic in te slightest.

Yes, yes it does. That's my argument against it!