Villa Park transport

[rjw63]

Back in the day we used to park on the industrial units next to The Vine pub, or in the street there, it was free for years.

Then one season some divkhead turns up in a hi-viz and tries to charge us five quid.

Id say no probs, I’ll pay when I get back, and of course after we’d been in the Holte suite or some other pub they’d **** off by then

[VillaChris]

No idea how feasible it is but I've always thought a park and ride option from say the Fort would work alright for Saturday/ Sunday and possibly midweek games.

Of course you'd need co-operation with the shopping centre itself but don't see a big issue if people are parking there at 6pm, have a bit to eat and then catch some shuttle buses to the ground from half 6 up to 7.45pm.

Obviously market it a bit to spread awareness, I'm pretty sure the Fort was used as shuttle park for the Commonwealth games so the feasibility is there if perhaps not the cost to have vehicles every 10 days.

Could also do it from Star City although that's far more walkable, I get a lift there from midweek games like tonight and there's always hundreds of fans walking back.

When I went to Uni in Stoke I went to 5-6 Stoke games a season when they were getting sell outs in the prem and they'd always lay on shuttle bases from the centre given their ground's isolated location so while that isn't an issue for VP the congestion in the streets by the ground is simply horrendous after it finishes.

Trains need to go back to six an hour but really that's beyond the clubs control and I think they're staying at four an hour at peak times for foreseeable future. Would help with the Walsall line going to three an hour. Surely if Andy Street is going to our games and getting off at Witton he can surely push for that when he's up for re-election?!

No issue with buses. 65/67 serve town a 10 minute walk in one direction and endless buses serving Town/Great Barr/Walsall with another 10 minute walk in the other direction.

VP is hardly in the middle of nowhere like so many new grounds. With three stations within 2 mile radius and decent bus routes there really shouldn't be extreme  bottlenecks but then Brum can never really shake off it's tag as being car dependent with negligent investment in transport compared to other places.

[VillaChris]

13 hours ago, imavillan said:

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.

Platforms are nowhere near big enough for 10 carriages at any of the local stations, six is maximum Aston can provide and Witton is just four but seems it's a compromise of six carriages on all trains but you only get four an hour as opposed to a fair few having three but you get one every 10 minutes as was the case pre covid.

Even the national ones I've been on an eight coach going to Liverpool that stops at Smethwick Galton Bridge and you can only get off if you're in the first four coaches!

That really isn't a quick fix I'm afraid.

[The Fun Factory]

Well one way to solve the issue is to put in a shit home performances like tonight so everyone leaves 15 minutes before the final whistle.

[OutByEaster?]

Special thanks to whichever bright spark at the council decided to close the tunnels at Perry Barr on the A34 last night for some impromptu roadworks action just before the final whistle.

 

[Kingman]

On 06/02/2024 at 18:55, OutByEaster? said:

So, I'm interested in your thoughts on the various ways of getting to and from Villa Park and the ways in which you think it can be improved.

If they open up the concourse after kick off for the 5.30pm game or extend the digbeth dining club in the Trinity Road fan zone then we solve circa 50% of the egress problem.

Trouble is currently that since they closed the Holte Suite there is nothing after the game to filter fans away, so that needs to change. We would always have a few in there after the game till they lift the road closures and let the traffic fade away then jump into cab.

At Spurs and Brighton to my knowledge (maybe more) they reopen the concourse straight after the game for food and drinks

For me In the short term that’s the quickest win till they chuck a load of money at it.

[Wainy316]

44 minutes ago, Kingman said:

If they open up the concourse after kick off for the 5.30pm game or extend the digbeth dining club in the Trinity Road fan zone then we solve circa 50% of the egress problem.

Trouble is currently that since they closed the Holte Suite there is nothing after the game to filter fans away, so that needs to change. We would always have a few in there after the game till they lift the road closures and let the traffic fade away then jump into cab.

At Spurs and Brighton to my knowledge (maybe more) they reopen the concourse straight after the game for food and drinks

For me In the short term that’s the quickest win till they chuck a load of money at it.

No chance.  That makes far too much sense.

[VillaChris]

Man.City starting a shuttle bus service from various parts of Manchester:

Quote

Getting to the Etihad Stadium on a matchday could be about to get a lot easier. This comes as a partnership between Manchester City and Transport for Greater Manchester is announced. 

The partnership will see the trial of a new matchday shuttle-bus service. In total, 17 buses will travel across the city operating at 60 stops, bringing supporters to the stadium. The new buses have been described as a “low-priced’ option for fans. The routes have been created by using analysis and data of areas of the city with limited transport options. 

Man City to trial new matchday bus service to the Etihad - full list of stops and prices (manchesterworld.uk)

I'm sure we used to do this in the Lerner years, used to see the buses from Tamworth, Bromsgrove and Redditch parked up on Witton Lane.

[rodders0223]

They need to change the lights at the M6 island on the Lichfield road for a longer green so the majority of people can **** off. Simple.

[Brumstopdogs]

Not saying a similar thing would in anyway be feasible for Villa (as don't know enough about it)  but for discussion purposes...

 

[rodders0223]

£6 for a **** bus

[John]

A reliable park & ride would be something we could do in order (for every home game) to reduce the number of cars parking near the ground. Special buses that picked up from outside the ground could also help. A couple of  "special trains" being put on, that started from Witton in both directions 15 minutes after the game was due to finish (to allow some time for stoppage time) would also be an idea.

Trains can be a bit of a lottery at the moment with cancelations and with some trains from New Street not stopping at Aston before games from 12 - 3pm. As has been said, having the concourses within the ground open for business after games, could also stagger departures and bring the club in some cash. All of that may reduce the number of cars that are parked on roads around the ground and make it easier for people on foot, buses and cars (where users have no alternative) to get away after games too.  

[sne]

City where I live have a shuttle bus service together with the local ice hockey club and the with pubs in the city centre. You buy a beer or some food ahead of the game and you get a free ticket to the buses for travel before and after the game. Works great.

Obviously much less people and money involved since the town is only about 100k and the stadium only packs about 8k most nights. Villa likely want the fans to spend the money at VP rather than at pubs but get the people there earlier and make sure the serving works and everybody wins.

I have no knowledge about the finer details involved in Birmingham or if it could work there thou.

[Junxs]

I want to point out the traffic lights at Spaghetti junction. 

You have a queue of traffic heading that direction, whether to get onto M6, Slade Road, Gravelly Hill or Tyburn Road. Yet the traffic lights carry on in their normal cycle.

I never really realised until one day I was at the front and sat at red lights for about 3 minutes while nothing was going in any direction and about 15,000 cars behind me.

These need to be switched off on matchdays and the roundabout used as it used to be back in the day allowing traffic to flow when its obvious everything is coming from one direction. Or at least put some sensors on so it will switch if it recognises the odd car is coming from another direction. 

This is especially annoying at 1030pm after a midweek game when there really is nothing going in any other direction and the red lights are just making it worse.

[VillaChris]

10 hours ago, John said:

A reliable park & ride would be something we could do in order (for every home game) to reduce the number of cars parking near the ground. Special buses that picked up from outside the ground could also help. A couple of  "special trains" being put on, that started from Witton in both directions 15 minutes after the game was due to finish (to allow some time for stoppage time) would also be an idea.

Trains can be a bit of a lottery at the moment with cancelations and with some trains from New Street not stopping at Aston before games from 12 - 3pm. As has been said, having the concourses within the ground open for business after games, could also stagger departures and bring the club in some cash. All of that may reduce the number of cars that are parked on roads around the ground and make it easier for people on foot, buses and cars (where users have no alternative) to get away after games too.  

Extra train have to be worked into timetables so just feels like too much hard work and cost for Travel West Midlands.

Better idea on the park and ride. As said before you have Star City a mile away and the Fort so could start with Saturday/Sunday services and see the take up and then possibly try it for midweek match. Pretty sure some buses were put on from the city centre last season but not sure if they were used much when you have the general services that are 5-10 minute walk to the ground.

[VillaChris]

9 hours ago, Junxs said:

I want to point out the traffic lights at Spaghetti junction. 

You have a queue of traffic heading that direction, whether to get onto M6, Slade Road, Gravelly Hill or Tyburn Road. Yet the traffic lights carry on in their normal cycle.

I never really realised until one day I was at the front and sat at red lights for about 3 minutes while nothing was going in any direction and about 15,000 cars behind me.

These need to be switched off on matchdays and the roundabout used as it used to be back in the day allowing traffic to flow when its obvious everything is coming from one direction. Or at least put some sensors on so it will switch if it recognises the odd car is coming from another direction. 

This is especially annoying at 1030pm after a midweek game when there really is nothing going in any other direction and the red lights are just making it worse.

Yes that is very annoying.

Genuinely just easier to turn right and go past Star City and then you can get back to North Birmingham or M6 heading towards Tamworth/East Midlands and save yourself a good half hour just waiting in a queue.

[OutByEaster?]

The club are definitely looking at shuttle bus services - the problem at the moment being the movement of busses once they get close to Villa Park and the time it takes for that first mile on the journey home.

At the moment, if they were to put busses on, the best way they'd have to get people out and underway in the quickest possible time would be to have those busses pick up either on the bus lane near Aston station or at somewhere like Perry Barr one-stop - that's a rubbish solution, but the problem is that if you were to run a shuttle bus from the North Stand car park, it'd take you twenty-five minutes for it to get to Aston station or to the island at six ways - finding ways to get busses in and out of Villa Park is the difficult bit.

It's the same with taxis, if you're headed to the city centre once you've walked far enough away from Villa Park to get to a place where taxis can move at any kind of speed, you're already halfway there.

[VillaChris]

49 minutes ago, OutByEaster? said:

The club are definitely looking at shuttle bus services - the problem at the moment being the movement of busses once they get close to Villa Park and the time it takes for that first mile on the journey home.

At the moment, if they were to put busses on, the best way they'd have to get people out and underway in the quickest possible time would be to have those busses pick up either on the bus lane near Aston station or at somewhere like Perry Barr one-stop - that's a rubbish solution, but the problem is that if you were to run a shuttle bus from the North Stand car park, it'd take you twenty-five minutes for it to get to Aston station or to the island at six ways - finding ways to get busses in and out of Villa Park is the difficult bit.

It's the same with taxis, if you're headed to the city centre once you've walked far enough away from Villa Park to get to a place where taxis can move at any kind of speed, you're already halfway there.

Interesting.

Aston station wouldn't be too bad a walk as once you're under the expressway you're only five minutes walk away.

Perhaps have a couple ready on Church Lane as I use that as a quick cut through to walk to Lichfield Road sometimes so can beat the crowds/congestion.

The tesco car park aswell but guess you need the co operation and that wouldn't be easy at all.

[cheltenham_villa]

58 minutes ago, OutByEaster? said:

The club are definitely looking at shuttle bus services - the problem at the moment being the movement of busses once they get close to Villa Park and the time it takes for that first mile on the journey home.

At the moment, if they were to put busses on, the best way they'd have to get people out and underway in the quickest possible time would be to have those busses pick up either on the bus lane near Aston station or at somewhere like Perry Barr one-stop - that's a rubbish solution, but the problem is that if you were to run a shuttle bus from the North Stand car park, it'd take you twenty-five minutes for it to get to Aston station or to the island at six ways - finding ways to get busses in and out of Villa Park is the difficult bit.

It's the same with taxis, if you're headed to the city centre once you've walked far enough away from Villa Park to get to a place where taxis can move at any kind of speed, you're already halfway there.

This for me is the problem. A bus typically holds 50 fans, a round trip to anywhere meaningful after the game is an hour. So we need to dream up 100 buses to shift 5000 fans. Costs and availability a huge issue I imagine.

[John]

3 hours ago, OutByEaster? said:

The club are definitely looking at shuttle bus services - the problem at the moment being the movement of busses once they get close to Villa Park and the time it takes for that first mile on the journey home.

At the moment, if they were to put busses on, the best way they'd have to get people out and underway in the quickest possible time would be to have those busses pick up either on the bus lane near Aston station or at somewhere like Perry Barr one-stop - that's a rubbish solution, but the problem is that if you were to run a shuttle bus from the North Stand car park, it'd take you twenty-five minutes for it to get to Aston station or to the island at six ways - finding ways to get busses in and out of Villa Park is the difficult bit.

It's the same with taxis, if you're headed to the city centre once you've walked far enough away from Villa Park to get to a place where taxis can move at any kind of speed, you're already halfway there.

Could buses not park right outside of the ground in Witton Lane for example and then be sent out together with a couple of the police that are already outside of the ground being asked to stop traffic at Witton island to allow the buses to get onto the main roads? Back when buses used to line up in the roads (number 11 & 7) and move off when full, that seemed to work well, although cars were not parked on the main roads as they are now and there are more cars on the road now too. Perhaps one main road could be closed to any traffic, other than buses after games for a period of time?