Villa Park transport

[imavillan]

8 minutes ago, Stevo985 said:

Are they though?

BAsically what I'm getting at is it isn't as easy as "clicking your fingers". Carriages aren't just lying around waiting for people to use. I imagine they're actually in very short supply (but I'm guessing)

I imagine @The_Rev could shed some light on it

I'm aware it's not as simple as i'm saying but it's most definitely doable with a little planning.

I've seen many a cross city line train with umpteen carriages on it. As i've said, at least 10 carriages. Now somebody has planned that. Why can't it be planned for the trains that pass through Aston & Witton? We are talking about local trains here. Not trains that are going to Glasgow, Newcastle, London, Penzance etc. If that was the case then yes it would be neigh on impossible. The cross City line is Lichfield to Reditich and back.

I'm sure the club must have discussed this and if not then it's a big miss. It just seems a simple solution to me. 

@S-Platt The platforms are big enough. They run trains throughout the day with 10 carriages without any problems.

 

It's just when it's match day it's not ''peak'' time so it's treated like theres hardly any use of trains when we know different.

[The Fun Factory]

I have given up using Aston Station after the match. I think it is just as quick for me to walk back into town than walk to the station, and wait for 20-30 minutes. Bus services could be improved with better signage and locations.  I would guess for evening matches people use public transport far less due to the fear of missing the last bus/train back home,, given matches now kick off 8pm or later, and we usually have 10-15 minutes of injury time. They should help out the supporter coaches by subbing their travel costs and putting in the police escort back to the M6 after the game, but all of that would cost money. The more cars you can take off the road during match day, the better. Both for traffics and the envrionment.

[Pongo Waring]

Walking down Witton Road is annoying. Cars all parked on sides. Never use to be like that.
Driving down Witton Road is annoying, fans walking in the road due to the cars parking on the sides and the pavements not being big enough, some fans don't have a care in the world or are deaf and just dont see any cars behind them. or they pull out in front of fans.

God just move/rebuild the ground in a better location for all. its the only way. 
 

[sidcow]

I've mentioned before, there is a "loop" that allows trains to depart Aston and Witton in a Northerly direction and loop round to enter New Street from the other side.  They could conceivable run trains back into new Street from both platforms of the stations.  I'm sure it would be difficult to arrange but it's certainly physically possible.

The best solution would be for Labour to get back in and re-nationalise the railways.  Then they could actually provide a public transport service instead of trying to deal with multiple profiteering companies.

When I was a lad I'd get the no 11 bus towards Eddington.  When you got to the bus stop there would be 6 or 7 No 11 Buses all lined up ready to go.  Does this still happen?  I'm guessing not.  The days of football specials and extra busses laid on are probably gone as deemed too expensive to operate by private companies.

And of course a tram route down the Lichfield Rd is so obvious it hurts but again getting anything like that built in this country is literally a lifetime undertaking.

Edited February 8 by sidcow

[sidcow]

That bloody van owned by the fast food stalls that parks under the Aston Expressway overpass right on the corner where everyone is trying to get through is a pain in the assets.  ESPECIALLY as the huge compound for the 15 year repairs to the Aston Expressway takes up most of the footpath.  All he needs to do is park his van about 5 metres further down the road!

 

No one will ever convince me that Civil Contractors don't collude and deliberately work slow on all Civil Infrastructure projects.

Edited February 7 by sidcow

[sidcow]

Traffic around Church Road would be improved immeasurably by a one way system only entering the vicinity via Grosvenor Rd > Queens Road and exiting via Church Road.   That would end a lot of the gridlock that occurs.  it can be absolute chaos round there on matchdays.  Masses of cars trying to go both ways on roads reduced to single track because of parking on both sides.  it's a real mess. 

I saw an away supporters coach trying to get down Church Road once.  They were trying to back up dozens of cars so it could escape up Sycamore Road.  Speaking of which more people should exit the area via Sycamore Road which has a little used exit onto Waterlinks Boulevard when everyone is trying to get to the lights at Church Road/Lichfield Road

They also used to always have a policeman controlling the lights at Church Road/Lichfield Road that worked really but they stopped it for some reason. 

Edited February 7 by sidcow

[Pongo's Socks]

Grew up in Tamworth, been going to Villa for 35 years. When I first started going we could park on my mates nan's drive just off Lichfield Rd by Aston Station. Traffic was busy, but not like it is today, and I'm sure I remember police directing traffic. Once old enough to go on my own with mates, it was 2 trains or 2 buses, always regular and not a problem getting back, but most KO times were 3pm Saturday. Once beer got involved, we'd always hung around an hour or 2, used the Social or the Ads. Now I take my kids. If its Saturday or Sunday there's the AV1 bus from Tamworth, drops under the flyover by the church, picks up just by the academy past brookvale, a pain getting out, but reliable (have to cover the kids ears on the top deck though). Doesn't run for cup games though. The main issue is evening games. No feasible option for me other than driving, and then we have to leave early else it's midnight the kids get to bed on a school night. No buses back after a certain time, to wait for a train would make it even later. Its the bit I dread about going. I put in another thread it should only take me 23 minutes to get there by car, it can take 2 hours if I wait for final whistle. 

[rjw63]

2 hours ago, sidcow said:

When I was a lad I'd get the no 11 bus towards Eddington. 

 

I bet he was really happy to see you.

[Villatillidie95]

Back in the day I used to go with my dad and we parked in any of the roads which had a space, usually off the trinity road but often a bit further away. This involved the horrendous right turn waiting situation at the roundabout as you exit the M6 for Aston. 
 

however now I go on my own and often will get dropped off near the school after you turn left at the roundabout and then again onto Victoria road. I then get picked up from star city after the game. It’s a bit of a trek but good for the exercise tbh. Usuallt quite easy getting out after the game, sometimes can be terrible if both teams heading in the same direction but often we will play opposition where there is hardly any wait.

if I have to I can get the trains but I prefer to get dropped off and then picked up, it works for everyone as often Costco is open or someone giving me a lift wants to go to Ikea anyways haha 

[delboy54]

I drive up via A14 and M6 from Cambridge, and get off at J5, and make my way to Star City.

Free parking and a 25/30 minute walk to VP. The walk is ok as long as its not raining, there are always fellow fans (home and away) walking the same route, so even if its dark its a safe route (in my experience).

Can be a bit of traffic from Star City to J5 of the M6 but its not that bad.

I used to park at the school (King Edwards?) at the top of Holte Park but getting out to the M6 was dreadful, so don't use it anymore.

[MarkLillis]

4 hours ago, imavillan said:

one of the things with the trains from both Witton and Aston is as easy as clicking your fingers to fix.

At match times the trains that are scheduled to pass through both stations and take fans away/back home.....

put more carriages on the trains !!!!

Bingo, everybody gets on the same train, job done.

I have never understood why this can’t be done.

[est1874]

I'll preface by saying, am not a local.

Win, lose or draw (but especially lose or draw), leaving VP and seeing the sheer volume of people queued up for well over an hour along the wall at the A4040 to try to get on a train is one of the most demoralising experiences I've had. It's terrible for locals and breeze-ins alike, and sends a terrible message to the public about the realities of supporting this majestic club.

The parking situation is such a mess is doesn't even bear discussion, it's like the wild west, except in the wild west you could always turn and run like a coward if you wanted. There ain't no way out of any parking situation except waiting for others to return to their vehicles, and then you just sit gridlocked for hours.

It's all a bit of a joke in 2024. Good luck to this new guy, he's gonna need it.

[Vive_La_Villa]

Extra trains around full time would be nice. Miss the 22:10 from Witton to Walsall tonight it’s an hour wait for the next one. 

[MarkLillis]

We have to make a particular way of traveling to and from VIlla Park so obviously easier that much less people choose other ways.

Extra carriages at trains stopping at both stations seems a no brainer but I’m sure there are reasons why it’s not done.

Buses to town that can use a match day route which maybe is unavailable to other traffic (like bus lane) for an hour after the match.

A specific walking route to down that is clearly signposted and maybe stewarded (overkill maybe)

Edited February 7 by MarkLillis

[withes_shin]

14 minutes ago, Vive_La_Villa said:

Extra trains around full time would be nice. Miss the 22:10 from Witton to Walsall tonight it’s an hour wait for the next one. 

You can get the 22:40

I'm hoping there is no extra time and penalties tonight otherwise it will be after midnight before I get home.

[Hev]

Agree that roads around ground should be closed for 30 mins after game if possible.  When i went to Everton some years ago for example, the cars weren't allowed out of the car park opposite for 30 mins after game so that pedestrians could clear away from the ground first. Manor Road - walking back to Brookvale Road is always horrendous. Traffic getting away along Brookvale Road is also horrific - right up to the lights by The Ridgeway. So hard to get out of the car parks and there are so many roads with cars waiting to turn out. Maybe Police could direct traffic along Brookvale Road too ? A difficult one to solve i think

[sidcow]

Thing is for me, I drive to the ground. I park quite far away by Wing Yip beyond Aston Manor Brewery. It's a fairly long walk, a about 25 minutes, but I rarely have much difficulty getting away from there. Whiz straight out onto the inner ring road by Aston University.  It's ever too much hassle. 

A bigger Villa Park for me will mean another 5 minutes of walking to the next set of streets. 

[The_Rev]

7 hours ago, imavillan said:

I've seen many a cross city line train with umpteen carriages on it. As i've said, at least 10 carriages. Now somebody has planned that

yes. They are diagrammed for the peak service.  Sometimes they’ll stay in formation for the off peak because it’s more efficient to do that than it is to have a driver uncouple them and take them back to the depot.  Train diagramming is complicated and even after 25+ years in the industry I can’t pretend to know how to do it. 

[mikeyjavfc]

I pay £7 to park on an industrial unit next to the A34. 20 minute walk to the ground past Tesco and down Witton lane to the ground. Quick to get away if you rush back to the car after the game, which I do (sometimes literally running) since I need to drive 60 miles up the M6. If you are slow it’s the usual grid lock to leave the car park although the lads at the car park do a good job directing traffic. More than happy to pay for good parking. 

[MapleVilla]

4 hours ago, delboy54 said:

I drive up via A14 and M6 from Cambridge, and get off at J5, and make my way to Star City.

Free parking and a 25/30 minute walk to VP. The walk is ok as long as its not raining, there are always fellow fans (home and away) walking the same route, so even if its dark its a safe route (in my experience).

Can be a bit of traffic from Star City to J5 of the M6 but its not that bad.

I used to park at the school (King Edwards?) at the top of Holte Park but getting out to the M6 was dreadful, so don't use it anymore.

It's been so long since I've been. I think I've used the King Edwards school car park, and the one behind the Aston Parish church which has now been built on I see. Star City has ANPR on the car park but I presume you don't need to do something there before hand to warrant the space? I remember leaving my car there for a bit while my mates picked me up and we went into town to eat. Here in Canada there is plenty of spaces for park usually, but UK I know is proper anal with the times/payment/restrictions etc. I don't miss that.