Travelling to games at Falmer

[Norman Potting]

Perry texted me the other day about the date the canal will have finished construction. Not until sometime around Christmas, he said. I have a year-long rental of a love-barge created for Quincy on which i shall simply lounge v-neckedly and innately attract women who should very much know better. I have has transportable lab too in the hull of the beast where i carry out some very interesting experiments with my Chinese friend, Sam. At the minute Sam is looking to amphibianise a dog, the Toadoberman Project as he likes to call it, but i am still concentrating on unsolved murder cases of the early 80s and being unnecessarily angry about everything. Anyway, once the canal is up and running i'll travel down on my barge, setting off on a Thursday evening. At season-start, i'll go by train, like most other mugs.

...And a pint of whatever Meade's Ball is having please! Can we start a "Meade's Ball Gold" sub forum please?

 

[Brovion]

If 56 per cent do want to travel by train, of course, this could be up to 12,500 people.

Way beyond the capacity of the railway to cope.

....

Indeed. Although once the stadium is open I don't think we'll see 55-60% of people coming by train - well if they do they'll only do it once. I think the coach figure in this poll will prove to be too low; my guess is that coach services will evolve, especially for people who live in the north and west. They may find getting two trains per journey (one to Brighton then one to Falmer, reverse for the homeward journey) too much of a fag.

I can't believe they couldn't build an underground car park under tye stadium with multi levels for all the supporters to use.

It would have been too expensive and wouldn't have fitted in with the 'sustainable transport' strategy the club were trying to promote. I agree that there are too few car parking spaces for 'out-of-towners' given the lack of capacity of the railway.

 

[The Large One]

I also reckon that 'bus' figure will be a bit higher.

If I'm in town, a bus from the Old Steine would be a perfectly sensible option.

 

[Goring Gull]

I'm sure everyone will get there somehow.

 

[Safeway]

I also reckon that 'bus' figure will be a bit higher.

If I'm in town, a bus from the Old Steine would be a perfectly sensible option.

Agreed. What sort of percentage currently use the bus to/from Withdean? Got to be more than 6%.

 

[Titanic]

Coming from Billingshurst, and paying for 3 people, train is a ridiculous and costly option (2 changes each way).

I would LIKE to be able to drive to the stadium and park nearby, on nearly all occasions with 4 other STH in the car, and would be happy to pay somewhere in the £5-10 range for the privilege.

If this is IMPOSSIBLE, then we will have to use the P&R option probably from Mill Lane, or possibly Park and Walk from somewhere within sensible range?

 

[Safeway]

I'm sure the universities, Health & Racket Club etc will cash in on matchday parking.

Also, how long before planning permission is granted for a car park the other side of Village Way?

 

[Lord Bracknell]

I'm sure the universities, Health & Racket Club etc will cash in on matchday parking.

Also, how long before planning permission is granted for a car park the other side of Village Way?

That patch of land is being restored to agricultural use and will be returned to the farmer. It is in the newly designated National Park and subject to the National Park Authority's planning policies.

So ... never.

 

[Lord Bracknell]

Indeed. Although once the stadium is open I don't think we'll see 55-60% of people coming by train - well if they do they'll only do it once. I think the coach figure in this poll will prove to be too low; my guess is that coach services will evolve, especially for people who live in the north and west. They may find getting two trains per journey (one to Brighton then one to Falmer, reverse for the homeward journey) too much of a fag.

Two trains from Lewes to Hove was never "too much of a fag" when I used to travel to the Goldstone.

But you are right about coaches.

 

[Freddie Goodwin.]

Also, as we have a betting tie up with Corals, how about a P&R from the greyhound Stadium with discount tickets for those who might want to go racing after?

 

[Notters]

Fortunately, as Safeway has already pointed out, this is not a representative sample of Albion fans.

I'd have thought this percentage could be somewhat higher with away fans, particularly if we're playing a London club.

 

[West Hoathly Seagull]

Drive to Lewes, find somewhere to park (Nevill or Winterbourne Estates probably - I expect there to be parking restrictions in the roads off the A277), then take a 28 or 29. West Sussex County Council have helpfully decided to make all parking round Haywards Heath station 2 hours only, whereas you used to be able to park for 4 hours in Mill Green Road. Arrive just before 2, catch 2.04 to Preston Park, or 2.27, 4 hours just enough time to cover getting back from a game. I particularly want to avoid going via Brighton if I go by train. WSCC have made the via Lewes option impracticable. Going to Three Bridges is too much hassle and would make a journey which currently takes no more than 40 minutes more than an hour. If the Falmer Academy parking places become available, I will look at the price and then make my decision.

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

Have the club released any info about P&R, extra/special trains, extra/special bus services etc? It's difficult to complete this questionnaire if you do not know what you're dealing with.

 

[West Hoathly Seagull]

Very good question - but I dont know. Depends on the overall take up by 1901 members I guess.

It is interesting that when you go to other grounds, like Charlton, Leeds or Aston Villa, that you get private organisations ( local factories, schools, or whatever) offering matchday parking on their own land for a reasonable price - £5/£10 per car.

Could be quite lucrative for any organistaions like this in the NE Brighton area, and would offer a very useful service.

That little industrial estate by Wild Park could make a mint say charging a few pounds per car. Sure quite a few would walk or tolerate a bus ride that far. For me, P and R is not really an option, as I intend to stay and have a few (non-alcoholic) drinks with friends in the supporters' bar afterwards. Unless they plan to run P and R buses for at least two hours afterwards.

Of course, if Dr Beeching hadn't come along and smashed up all our local railways, I could get on at West Hoathly, take the train to HH or Lewes and would then be willing to accept the crush for the last 15 minutes or so. I could even walk home from West Hoathly station on summer days (parking in Sharpthorne on other days would be no problem). Sadly, my nearest stations now are East Grinstead (would have to go via East Croydon), Haywards Heath or Three Bridges, the drawbacks for which I have already explained.

 

[Tooting Gull]

As an out-of-towner who pretty much has to drive from Surrey, maybe it will be park and ride, or I might make use of any opportunistic parking operators that spring up.

Simster's plan of park in Hassocks and then train is possible, but ideally given the likely train issues I'd much rather avoid Brighton station and park somewhere free and walk, even if it's a good half or three-quarter-hour stroll. Is this going to be possible from any of those areas slightly closer to Brighton?

Have to say, I'm not that impressed with the club's attitude towards drivers. They're just fans trying to get to games, like they were when they parked in Hove Park Road or The Droveway. It's all fine and dandy having some utopian attitude towards getting cars off the road, but that is still the way a lot of people (including fans) get around. Leaving it off their poll is absurd.

 

[The Large One]

Have the club released any info about P&R, extra/special trains, extra/special bus services etc? It's difficult to complete this questionnaire if you do not know what you're dealing with.

Chicken and egg question probably.

They won't know what they're dealing with until the questionnaires are returned.

 

[deletebeepbeepbeep]

To be honest, the Club should have got their fingers out already and identified P&R sites but they've obviously been a bit slack or failed to find anywhere appropriate.

 

[samtheseagull]

Good questions.

Hopefully Train. Happy to arrive early and leave later if the beer is decent.

May experiment with pushbike if it is secure parking.

drinking and a pushbike? could be dangerous

 

[kevo]

Live in London, so wondering if I'd be better off getting the train in the other direction, ie to Lewes, and then train to London from there. Catching the train(s) to Brighton will surely be a mare.

 

[Lord Bracknell]

To be honest, the Club should have got their fingers out already and identified P&R sites but they've obviously been a bit slack or failed to find anywhere appropriate.

At the Public Inquiry, they were promising Mill Road, Brighton University (Lewes Road) and Brighton Racecourse. I also know that they were keen to identify a site in the Lewes area, but that's not easy.