Car parking and stewarding.

[drew]

I went by pre-booked bus yesterday and knocked nearly an hour from my train or park & ride trip!

Fair enough but that was no doubt at added expense. If you're happy to pay extra to save a few minutes that's fine.

I think that sounds like a good service. However, as already pointed out in this thread, the park and ride sites serve the west and north well but not the east. I imagine at least half an hour extra on top of your calculation after and before the game for those returning east. For evening games that would be a deal breaker for my kids and would also potentially be a problem for Saturday matches due to work commitments.

However desirable it would be for all the supporters to arrive on public transport or park and ride, it won't always suit everyone. I, for one, don't understand the apparent hostility from some quarters regarding this situation.

When you say east, are you coming via the A27 because if so, getting to Mill Road is not going to take that long, maybe a small wait getting to the roundabout at Patcham but in the long run how quickly do people get clear of BF?

 

[abc]

Most stadium car parks across country suffer like this, we are not alone. As you say seems a bit daft and unnecessary you putting yourself in this situation. How about choosing another way to get to the ground on an evening.

Its just a time thing. I live outside the area and it just takes too long by train on an evening when I start work at 5 am the next morning. It took two hours post full time to get from the car park to the A27 last tuesday night. Yesterday it was taking c.45 mins which seems reasonable (and if it worse then its not usually a big deal on a Sat afternoon) but night games are generally far worse. Therefore one solution is to skip night games. Missing night games means buying a season ticket is pretty pointless.

 

[PILTDOWN MAN]

abc Where do you come from?

 

[abc]

abc Where do you come from?

The other side of Chichester. Not hundreds of miles away i know but the last train on a Tues night from Brighton is at 10.30. FT whistle is usually c.9.40 which leaves 50 mins from the Amex to catch my train. Perfectly doable but its tight enough and it only takes the queue at the Amex station to be slower than usual for some reason and its perefctly possible to miss the last train home. Furthermore if i were to catch that last train I wouldnt get home until after midnight and thats just too late for me on a school night.As one or two earlier posters have pointed out its not always quite so straightforward using public transport when you dont live close to Brighton itself, particulalry for a night game. Should have been a pompey fan I suppose!

 

[Green Cross Code Man]

Fair enough but that was no doubt at added expense. If you're happy to pay extra to save a few minutes that's fine.



When you say east, are you coming via the A27 because if so, getting to Mill Road is not going to take that long, maybe a small wait getting to the roundabout at Patcham but in the long run how quickly do people get clear of BF?

I am, as I've said, in the uni and getting away is quick.

 

[halbpro]

WSU middle of a row. Left as soon as the final whistle went, walked at a normal pace and was parked at Mithras House. Usually get the train but will probably go P and R for evening games in future.

The P&R for Mithras was far, far quicker on Monday than I've ever experienced before. I don't mind waiting myself, but you should expect at least a 20 minute wait for the bus unless you leave before full time from the WSU.

 

[trueblue]

20 mins is still not bad though: I'd be happy enough with that.

 

[halbpro]

20 mins is still not bad though: I'd be happy enough with that.

No I don't think it's too bad, but as stated above it's not great fun when the weather's horrible. Part of the problem is that all the buses leave together at the end of the game, so you don't get a staggered return and semi-constant flow of people. Even if the buses were staggered so it was a more regular flow I expect the average wait time would be about the same, it would likely just feel less long as you'd be moving more frequently. I don't think there's a practical way of achieving this though, and the current system does work well in general.

 

[trueblue]

No I don't think it's too bad, but as stated above it's not great fun when the weather's horrible. Part of the problem is that all the buses leave together at the end of the game, so you don't get a staggered return and semi-constant flow of people. Even if the buses were staggered so it was a more regular flow I expect the average wait time would be about the same, it would likely just feel less long as you'd be moving more frequently. I don't think there's a practical way of achieving this though, and the current system does work well in general.

I'm not sure why they don't load up more buses at once and then have those leave in convoy, so that more people wait inside, out of the cold and rain. Works well at other clubs. I suppose the problem could be a lack of space so there's nowhere for the next batch of buses to wait.

 

[pastafarian]

Is there anyone on here who has a BF parking ticket that can explain to me why the don't switch to the University Car Parks ?

we take someone who is wheelchair bound,but i get your point,if we had no issues with motability we would avoid the place like the plague.

I hope things improve with the planned new system,hopefully the guards will be organised after 45 mins of internment.

 

[British Bulldog]

we take someone who is wheelchair bound,but i get your point,if we had no issues with motability we would avoid the place like the plague.

I hope things improve with the planned new system,hopefully the guards will be organised after 45 mins of internment.

I really cant see it making much difference because as soon as they open the car park there's still going to be the same rush to get out and the same drivers still trying to push in on others, I'm not sure how well it will work out trying other forms of transport with my damn wheelchair but to be honest trying to get out of BF this season has started to ruin the whole match day experience anyway. Between now and the end of the season I'm going to try the train and the park and ride and see which one works best.

 

[WATFORD zero]

I really cant see it making much difference because as soon as they open the car park there's still going to be the same rush to get out and the same drivers still trying to push in on others, I'm not sure how well it will work out trying other forms of transport with my damn wheelchair but to be honest trying to get out of BF this season has started to ruin the whole match day experience anyway. Between now and the end of the season I'm going to try the train and the park and ride and see which one works best.

If you can switch to the University parking, there is a minibus pick up for disabled fans and from what I can gather, it works very well. PM Lord Bracknell

I also notice that the only two BF users who replied both have problems with mobility. I am guessing from the queues i see each week that you must both have 20 four wheel drives each

Nobody else has explained why they use BF instead of the University car parks. Shirley it would make sense to keep BF just for disabled users.

 

[Seagull on the wing]

Stewarding could be improved...did a head count of stewards when we arrived to park BF....11 stewards waving us in....coming out just two stewards handling the stampede.

 

[somerset]

No I don't think it's too bad, but as stated above it's not great fun when the weather's horrible..

I do think some roofing over the P&R queue wouldnt break the bank,....there are plenty of kids and old folk standing in all weathers waiting for a bus,.... 20-30 mins in rain is a dreary experience, we put that behind us after Withdean I had hoped.

 

[drew]

Out of interest, do the first ones in at BF park near the exit or near the ground?

 

[severnside gull]

Bizarrely exiting from BF on Saturday was the best for ages.

And the reason....... there were stewards on duty post-match for the first time this season, coning-off gaps to ensure everyone queued in an orderly fashion! Still took 45 minutes but it was stress-free which made it a massively less frustrating and more bearable experience listening to the rugby on the radio. If it was like that every game it would be fine.

However with a 45 minute delay before a single car moves it means we probably wouldn't get away in uunder an hour and a quarter in future.

If we lived locally then fine - we could enjoy a post-match drink (non alcoholic of course because drivers can't drink alcohol making it a somewhat unattractive proposition IMO). However with a 200 mile journey ahead it's a no-no...... ...so off to the uni for me and hopefully a place in (I think?) C5 if that is the area reserved for disabled parking. We are trying to preserve my wife's mobility by encouraging her to walk short distances rather than rely on a wheelchair all the time. She has enjoyed the freedom of being able to walk from BF to the ground rather than having to be pushed up from Bridge car park as before. I dont know where the minibus drops off and whether she will be able to retain some mobility or again resort to the wheelchair. It would be a big loss for her in terms of enjoyment of the day. Also at the moment we can get down to Brighton and enjoy half an hour or an hour on the Downs or on the seafront. I'm guessing we may fall by the wayside if we need to get to the uni earlier than our customary 45 minutes before kick-off which will detract quite a bit.

All-in-all I think the club's response has been positive. Just a shame it couldn't have been done pre-season. I don't think there is any excuse for leaving it so long to take action.

 

[Bwian]

From what I've read those parking in the Uni, Bridge Road or BF car park also suffer abnormal occasional delays so it is really only fair to compare the normal delays. On that basis I'd be interested to know how long it actually takes from leaving the stadium concourse and being on the open road in the car. Even if it's as low as 15 minutes the difference between the P&R and the pay to park facilities won't be more than fifteen or twenty minutes.

To some those few minutes may be important but are acceptable to me and certainly not worth the additional cost of parking locally at the stadium.

It all depends on what the stewards on the bridge decide to do. If they designated the right hand lane of the ramp and bridge as being only for those heading to the Uni and A27 bus stops it would likely be somewhere around 10 to 15 minutes now they let vehicles out of both exits from the Uni. This being a simple and obvious solution it never happens, consequently it leads to delays for those using the car parks and regular buses and also adds to the frustrations of those heading to Lewes by train.

To answer your question-it takes me about 10 minutes because I go over to the West Stand, meet friends and have a beer, watch the day's results, etc., then head over to the Uni once everybody has left (nearly everybody). I'd rather do that, stay in the warm and dry West Stand-beats being held up in the pissing rain (like Monday) whilst the stewards were trying to work out how to move a large number of people over the bridge. It isn't a difficult challenge but it seems like those in charge of stewarding, stewards and club officials aren't bright enough to see how simple it really is. That framework before the ramp could easily have signs directing people to the right (correct) channel-all of the jossling would be done away with and a thousand or so people heading to the Uni wouldn't be adding to the chaos that is crossing the bridge. Yes, I've made the suggestion to the club (many times) but it seems they know best.

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

If I was the transport manager I'd pop over to Sussex Uni and get some students to look into optimising the exit of cars and buses. That's a nice MSc project for a maths/stats student and a free solution.

 

[LowerWesty]

Hi Sevenside.

The disabled bus goes from CP 5 to the coach car park at the top of the stadium, by the steps and the disabled lift. It returns using the same route, there are 2 buses circulating, but since the demand is concentrated into a much shorter time frame it's possible passengers might have to wait for a few minutes.

The problem is that CP 5 is already full, however the club have never done an audit to establish the number still using it. If they did it is more than likely that they would discover there are spaces not being used.

Getting Steve to undertake a survey might be easier following Monday's fiasco.

From what you say, and I think most have always suspected, the majority of problems could be reduced and in some cases eliminated if the stewards were properly managed. There are so many reports of groups of them standing around chatting, simply because no one has told them what to do and more importantly ensured that they are actually doing it.

As Bwian has said, on the 8th and the 17th there were big problems accessing the Uni car parks and the Lewis trains. On the 22nd there were no stewards to be seen anywhere near the ramps and there were no problems at all!, as I think we all know, the key is managing the resource, putting it where it is needed and making sure it is doing the job.

What an excellent idea Tubthumper, surely now the club have recognised that changing a few things could improve matters significantly perhaps they will be open to sensible suggestions, we can only hope.

Cheers Noel

 

[Bwian]

If I was the transport manager I'd do my very well paid job properly.

Corrected for you