Parking in Coldean and Moulescoomb

[Postman Pat]

In this instance, I don't think that they should financially benefit (though I don't think that there should be a cost to them either) - and I haven't indicated that they should. Nor are they going to.

The posters above are implying that the council is money-grabbing, yet their actions (in the form of the public consultation) are those of - as you put it - helping everyone by giving the citizens what they want/need.

I think most of us living in the real world in the area can see a point in time when the club stop paying and the council come to the residents to fund the programme. That is when things will get interesting.

I wonder if we will get another consultation?

 

[Since1982]

With all the delays and congestion around the A27 slip-road, it might make sense for some P&R buses, like from Mithras House, to stay on the A27 to the Kingston round-about. They could then come back and pick-up/drop-off on the long bus stop on the south side of the A27 by Falmer Station.

Good idea. When the roadworks were happening at the bottom of Coldean Lane I started to go from Hassocks via Lewes and, apart from being a remarkably quick way to the uni for those of us who drive as it avoids the congestion on the Beacon and Coldean Lane, it also amazed me how little traffic was turning off to the stadium from that direction compared with the tailbacks the other way.

 

[Alex Alex Dawson oo! oo!]

I think most of us living in the real world in the area can see a point in time when the club stop paying and the council come to the residents to fund the programme. That is when things will get interesting.

I wonder if we will get another consultation?

The club doesn't have a choice about paying, it forms part of the planning consent for the stadium.

 

[sully]

There are several interesting things that have come out of this thread!

I still think that the proposed scheme in Coldean and Moulsecoomb are ridiculous, and could easily be sorted by a few additional yellow lines, as others have suggested. Was this one of the options in the consultation?

Also, people's comments on the other methods of getting to the ground are all interesting for a resident of Hurstpierpoint such as me!

With regard to the park and ride sites, I have used all three.
Mill Road fills up frustratingly early, which means I have to leave home at least 100 minutes before kick off to guarantee getting in there. If I'm a little later and it's full, I generally drive across to Lewes Road in heavy traffic to get to Mithras House. However, I have recently started driving past this P&R site and up to the racecourse, as it's quicker in and out on the busses (although the chances of a bus break-down are much higher). This rather extends my journey distance and time, though, so I still have to leave home well over an hour before kick off to have a chance of getting there on time. After the game (I never leave early), the racecourse park and ride is extremely quick to get away, but the other two usually involves waiting for the second wave of busses. I don't think I've ever waited more than 40 minutes, though, which I don't think is really all that bad. Why is it that us Southerners are so stressy about having to rush off all the time? Just chill and chat about the match! I reckon there are safety issues in the coach park, though - and also health issues due to the age and poor condition of the busses that are used!

The other option at the moment is to use the train from Hassocks. Someone asked about parking here a couple of pages back and I'd say that there's a fair chance of getting a space in one of the station car parks for evening games and the chances are that nobody will check for tickets (it's £4.50 a day, but I think there's an hourly tarrif as well). When I've used this option, I've been really impressed with how smooth the service is and how quickly I got to and from the ground. Again, I confirm that I never leave before the end of the game and don't consider the queues as being a problem at all. Perhaps I've been to Wembley by train too often!

The thing that would please me most is a P&R at Hickstead. I could just about walk there, but probably wouldn't. However, as I drive that bit of the A23 every day, I know that it takes very little time to drive from there to the A27 junction, and thus these busses probably wouldn't have any more than a 5 minute longer turn around time compared to Mill Road and would free up Mill Road for those travelling from the West.

Overall, we just have to get used to the fact that there's a lot of us trying to get to the games now, which is a great thing. We can't expect that it will be as easy to get to the ground as it was with 5k crowds at Withdean!

 

[Titanic]

Hickstead to Amex on a busy day (through the A23/A27 junction)... 20 minutes? They would need a lot of buses.

 

[Publius Ovidius]

Good idea. When the roadworks were happening at the bottom of Coldean Lane I started to go from Hassocks via Lewes and, apart from being a remarkably quick way to the uni for those of us who drive as it avoids the congestion on the Beacon and Coldean Lane, it also amazed me how little traffic was turning off to the stadium from that direction compared with the tailbacks the other way.

shhhhhhh

Some of us have been doing this since the stadium opened ( from the Brighton by pass down to Kingston roundabout and back up the other side - takes 3 minutes extra time as opposed to 10 minutes in teh queue and some arrogant prick hammers up the inside and cuts in at the roundabout at the top of the slip road)

 

[Birdie Boy]

more than enough thanks. I choose to head home after the game to spend time with my young children.

I never leave early and nearly always stay for a beer and chat afterwards and the same thing happens 90% of the time (the other 10% is uncontrollable circumstances), I get back home at the same time.

1) Stay until final whistle, clap players off and walk briskly to the station, wait in queue for 20-30 minutes, get to Brighton station and board connecting train.
2) Stay until final whistle, clap players off, go to bar for a drink and a chat for 20 - 30 minutes, stroll to the station, get to Brighton station and board the same connecting train (this happens every single mid-week game). The worst case scenario at weekends is you miss a connecting train and get the next one, getting home 20-30 minutes later.

In either scenario I do not believe that your young children will have noticed that you either got home the normal time or 20 - 30 minutes later and it will not have harmed their development.

It seems to me that people want everything, why haven't BHA invented time travel or a Star Trek type transporter?

 

[SpidersLegs]

I live in Coldean & have seen inconsiderate parking on my way to games quite frequently. The bus route down Forest Road is a problem with parking both sides which doesn't leave much room for the bus to get through. If people had parked more sensibly in places then these restrictions might not have had to be put in place.

 

[chucky1973]

I never leave early and nearly always stay for a beer and chat afterwards and the same thing happens 90% of the time (the other 10% is uncontrollable circumstances), I get back home at the same time.

1) Stay until final whistle, clap players off and walk briskly to the station, wait in queue for 20-30 minutes, get to Brighton station and board connecting train.
2) Stay until final whistle, clap players off, go to bar for a drink and a chat for 20 - 30 minutes, stroll to the station, get to Brighton station and board the same connecting train (this happens every single mid-week game). The worst case scenario at weekends is you miss a connecting train and get the next one, getting home 20-30 minutes later.

In either scenario I do not believe that your young children will have noticed that you either got home the normal time or 20 - 30 minutes later and it will not have harmed their development.

It seems to me that people want everything, why haven't BHA invented time travel or a Star Trek type transporter?

or walk to the car and be home 20 to 30 minutes quicker than all options above.

 

[Westdene Seagull]

My one experiance of park and ride was last season, getting from North to where you queue, after 45 mins I gave up, walked to coldean and got a taxi! it may have improved

Last season was indeed awful - for a number of matches I ended up abandoning the Football Special queues and trying to get a normal bus such as the 25.

This season has been completely different and I've not had a problem with the H or S buses in either direction nor at various different times. That said I do catch them from The Grenadier. I'd recommend giving them a go though.

 

[sully]

Hickstead to Amex on a busy day (through the A23/A27 junction)... 20 minutes? They would need a lot of buses.

Probably thereabouts when busy. It takes me about 10 minutes when commuting.....

I don't think the Mill Road busses take much less than this. How many busses do they use on that one?


Oh, and to those who say load all the busses at the same time, I think that might work for the racecourse, as there's plenty of room to park, but the others probably need to be staggered departures to work at the other end. Mill Road in particular has the problem that the busses have to use the same lane as the cars departing from the site, which must slow down their recycle time considerably.

 

[sully]

I live in Coldean & have seen inconsiderate parking on my way to games quite frequently. The bus route down Forest Road is a problem with parking both sides which doesn't leave much room for the bus to get through. If people had parked more sensibly in places then these restrictions might not have had to be put in place.

Presumably, there's no restriction to parking either side of the road, so nobody is doing anything wrong.

As plenty have said, all that is needed is some additional yellow lines to ensure that the bus routes are passable and the whole "problem" is solved.

 

[chucky1973]

Presumably, there's no restriction to parking either side of the road, so nobody is doing anything wrong.

As plenty have said, all that is needed is some additional yellow lines to ensure that the bus routes are passable and the whole "problem" is solved.

you speak to much sense, please will you stop it.

 

[les dynam]

Not sure on what capacity is like, but couldnt the club do a deal with Southern to let fans park in the Haywards Heath station car park, then use trains from there ? Maybe even Brighton station, again ive no idea what capacity there is like.

Probably would be busy for weekday games mind - shame there arent any stations with large car-parks in the area either. Not sure Hickstead is a suitable place for another P&R, its a fair distance from the Amex and looking how full current P&R buses are, people would be standing on buses all along the A27/A23 for a while, which at high speed isnt really that safe (just about fine for Mill Road though). That and how well used would it be ? A P&R a bit more West of Mill Road could be more useful, as those from the West have to go to Mithras House.

Could always use the training ground when it eventually gets built too.

I'm surprised so few people park at Brighton Station Car Park. Especially if people are coming down early and heading into town. It's not that pricey on Saturdays. Better still... park for free in the area north of London Road Station and catch the train from London Road - this works if you're heading into town before the game too.

 

[c0lz]

Quite sad, all they have done is moved the problem further down the road.

 

[Birdie Boy]

or walk to the car and be home 20 to 30 minutes quicker than all options above.

Or go back to the government stating that we were wrong to have built at Falmer, can we go somewhere else that will allow 20,000+ people to park close by and have it's own motorway/direct access...

 

[chucky1973]

Or go back to the government stating that we were wrong to have built at Falmer, can we go somewhere else that will allow 20,000+ people to park close by and have it's own motorway/direct access...

if you can organise that, then I would be grateful, thanks.

 

[trueblue]

but for a significant amount clearly not

That's true and some people genuinely need to park near the ground. However, the handful of people I know that have parking passes use them because they simply can't be persuaded to leave their cars at home and use public transport.

 

[trueblue]

Not if you want to clap the team off at the end of the match.

I manage that every single game. And use the train every time.

 

[Working class pride]

The new ground is superb and next to a good train station. But, park and ride for those at drive is not an ideal solution, because people like to drive and then walk to the ground. Some might dismiss driving, but driving is the most popular form of transport for a reason. Some will not like this but the solution is new car parks to be built in East Brighton within walking distance of the ground. I would hope this will happen naturally by market forces if there is money to be made out of building a car park within 20 minutes walk of the ground, but we shall see.