Stadium Objection

[The 17 Bus]

My dad missed the woodley bus to the ground last night, walked back home to drive to the Park and ride, managed to get half way round Lower Earley by half hour to kick off, so went back home as did not think he would make it.

Another £20 wasted plus hids time, this was a game he wanted to see too, i wonder if anyone really cares?

[Warfield Royal]

My dad missed the woodley bus to the ground last night, walked back home to drive to the Park and ride, managed to get half way round Lower Earley by half hour to kick off, so went back home as did not think he would make it.

Another £20 wasted plus hids time, this was a game he wanted to see too, i wonder if anyone really cares?

My understanding is that traffic congestion reduces considerably as the kick-off time approaches.

My wife sometimes drops me off for matches and goes shopping in Costco which means that she is heading home at that time.

[From Despair To Where?]

I think the station is key and it was interesting to see the application for Green Park village the other week. Station all included and slated to open in October 2008 ! Looked to me that the Pru were trying to be smart and push their houses through knowing the station is needed for the football.

Agreed. From a personal perspective, when the station is built I can't see myself driving to the ground. I'll park at my parents' house and catch the train from Reading West. All it would need is a shuttle train running from Reading Central on match days. I'm sure it could be timetabled in without too many problems. For the sake of a 5 minute train journey, I'd put up with this

[Behindu]

My dad missed the woodley bus to the ground last night, walked back home to drive to the Park and ride, managed to get half way round Lower Earley by half hour to kick off, so went back home as did not think he would make it.

Another £20 wasted plus hids time, this was a game he wanted to see too, i wonder if anyone really cares?

Who would you expect to care ?

Without being hard hearted he missed the bus and then he decided that he might not make the ko. Who are you looking for to stand up and take responsibility ? Presumably it would be WBC for not ensuring smooth flowing traffic in their area.

[Warfield Royal]

For the sake of a 5 minute train journey, I'd put up with this

The cost of a 5 min train journey would be out of proportion to the distance travelled and thus the perceived value for money. Most people would consider it more cost effective to drive especially if they can somehow park for free which I assume most people do.

[The 17 Bus]

My dad missed the woodley bus to the ground last night, walked back home to drive to the Park and ride, managed to get half way round Lower Earley by half hour to kick off, so went back home as did not think he would make it.

Another £20 wasted plus hids time, this was a game he wanted to see too, i wonder if anyone really cares?

Who would you expect to care ?

Without being hard hearted he missed the bus and then he decided that he might not make the ko. Who are you looking for to stand up and take responsibility ? Presumably it would be WBC for not ensuring smooth flowing traffic in their area.

He missed the bus as he is almost 80 and got confused about the time it ran, due to an evening KO, he then had to make a decision re the traffic he was stuck in, I told him he should have carried on to Foster Wheeler, but he made wrong decision.

As to who should care RFC should care as it is within their interests that fans can get in and out as easily as possible.

[el_presidente]

My dad missed the woodley bus to the ground last night, walked back home to drive to the Park and ride, managed to get half way round Lower Earley by half hour to kick off, so went back home as did not think he would make it.

Another £20 wasted plus hids time, this was a game he wanted to see too, i wonder if anyone really cares?

Who would you expect to care ?

Without being hard hearted he missed the bus and then he decided that he might not make the ko. Who are you looking for to stand up and take responsibility ? Presumably it would be WBC for not ensuring smooth flowing traffic in their area.

He missed the bus as he is almost 80 and got confused about the time it ran, due to an evening KO, he then had to make a decision re the traffic he was stuck in, I told him he should have carried on to Foster Wheeler, but he made wrong decision.

As to who should care RFC should care as it is within their interests that fans can get in and out as easily as possible.

Correct, I think RFC should have delayed the kick off when they realised your Dad was delayed.

[Elm Park]

My dad missed the woodley bus to the ground last night, walked back home to drive to the Park and ride, managed to get half way round Lower Earley by half hour to kick off, so went back home as did not think he would make it.

Another £20 wasted plus hids time, this was a game he wanted to see too, i wonder if anyone really cares?

Who would you expect to care ?

Without being hard hearted he missed the bus and then he decided that he might not make the ko. Who are you looking for to stand up and take responsibility ? Presumably it would be WBC for not ensuring smooth flowing traffic in their area.

He missed the bus as he is almost 80 and got confused about the time it ran, due to an evening KO, he then had to make a decision re the traffic he was stuck in, I told him he should have carried on to Foster Wheeler, but he made wrong decision.

As to who should care RFC should care as it is within their interests that fans can get in and out as easily as possible.

With half an hour to spare he was probably stuck in the same jam as me. If he had carried on he would have made it (depending on how long it takes him to walk up the hill).

[M Brook]

As a Wokingham Resident .. and looking forward to the extension .. I contacted WBC and objected to their objection !!! ... (Seeing as i pay the council tax to them!)

I have the full report of their objection and i would like to know from STAR how many ST holders are there that live in Wokingham?.

BTW .. RBC can ignore WBC and proceed anyway ..!

I think you are missing the point.

I am also a WDC resident and,like you, proudly looking forward to the extension. I am also a long standing ST holder. What I am not looking forward to is even worse match day congestion than we often get now. There is no getting away from it - given the location of the stadium, transport will always be an issue and it needs to be addressed as part of this application. The new Stagecoach buses are great and a new station will be excellent but they are only a start. The onus is firmly on the football club to demonstrate how they will cope with the additional traffic, vehicular and pedestrian, that the expansion will bring. It shouldn't be difficult and, in all honesty, the football club should have been making more play of how they intend to deal with the transport issues.

As I said in an earlier post on this thread, although I hate to say it, WDC have acted perfectly reasonably on this occasion.

One smaller point - people need to remember just how close the RBC/WDC border is to the stadium. For example, Foster Wheeler comes under WDC as do parts of the Whitley Wood estate.

[M Brook]

And I refuse to refer to Wokingham Council as Wokingham 'Borough' Council.
Reading can get away with being a Borough as its mainly urban. Wokingham isn't. Its semi-rural at best and should be referred to as a district. The ruling group have made a bad mistake that will only further discredit themselves and local government in general by giving themselves such pathetic airs and graces.

Rant over!

[bigmike]

I seem to remeber someone saying to me on here that Parking wasn't considered...

I suspect that unless the club do something to make the current car park bigger like a multistory like they had to put at Compaq it will be rejected. Which would be a shame as to be honest the club needs the extention

[Silver Fox]

Nonsense, if you provide more parking the traffic problems will get far worse. provide less parking and force people onto mass transit, it's the only answer

[ScottishRoyal]

Surely a lot of the problems would be remedied by the station that will be built in Green Park by the time the East stand is completed?

A lot of fans already get busses from Reading station (I did before I was seventeen) but many who could don't as driving is easier (me included). A train from Henley, one from Newbury, Basingstoke, Didcot, Wokingham, etc would really make a difference I think as getting a train home at a regular time is far quicker and more appealing than sitting on a crammed bus stuck in traffic.

[Behindu]

Surely a lot of the problems would be remedied by the station that will be built in Green Park by the time the East stand is completed?

A lot of fans already get busses from Reading station (I did before I was seventeen) but many who could don't as driving is easier (me included). A train from Henley, one from Newbury, Basingstoke, Didcot, Wokingham, etc would really make a difference I think as getting a train home at a regular time is far quicker and more appealing than sitting on a crammed bus stuck in traffic.

I can;t see them scheduling special trains from all those places.

There will be a standard service from Reading to Basingstoke, stopping at the stadium, and people will use the normal services to reach Reading. Perhaps there will be some extra services between Reading and the Stadium on match days but I would imagine the cost would be large and the timetabling complex. You would think that they need to get several thousand using the trains though....

I remain amazed that more local pubs / organisations / groups aren;t organising coaches to games. There must be loads of situations where 40 -50 people could travel together on a hired coach, they would get parking at the ground and priority at the end of the game yet we don;t see it happening.

[working class hero]

Mass transit is a great idea. I would travel by coach if it were cost effective and am looking into the costs of hiring a coach from Tilehurst - anyone interested let me know.

However, I often travel with 7 people in my car and can park for £7. It is impossible to get a bus for a similar sum and I don't like standing due to claustrophobia.....

I believe that RBC will be wrong to allow an extension unless there are plans in train to provide better public transport and more parking. The traffic snarl up is fearsome with 24000 fans. Increase to 38000 and the problems will be dire.

[Behindu]

I believe that RBC will be wrong to allow an extension unless there are plans in train to provide better public transport and more parking. The traffic snarl up is fearsome with 24000 fans. Increase to 38000 and the problems will be dire.

'in train' being the correct expression for the plan already in place !

[ArfnipIsARoyal]

For the sake of a 5 minute train journey, I'd put up with this

The cost of a 5 min train journey would be out of proportion to the distance travelled and thus the perceived value for money. Most people would consider it more cost effective to drive especially if they can somehow park for free which I assume most people do.

I seem to remember last season Brighton had a stub on their ticket which allowed you to get the train from Brighton Station to whichever station it was by the ground. A good idea as it will encourage more people to use the service. Maybe season ticket holders can get free or heavily discounted travel on the train upon presentation of the season ticket. This could also mean that people may get the train or drive into Central Reading and park up there and then use the service, thus allowing more flowing traffic around the stadium and a higher income from the train service.

[Stranded]

For the sake of a 5 minute train journey, I'd put up with this

The cost of a 5 min train journey would be out of proportion to the distance travelled and thus the perceived value for money. Most people would consider it more cost effective to drive especially if they can somehow park for free which I assume most people do.

I seem to remember last season Brighton had a stub on their ticket which allowed you to get the train from Brighton Station to whichever station it was by the ground. A good idea as it will encourage more people to use the service. Maybe season ticket holders can get free or heavily discounted travel on the train upon presentation of the season ticket. This could also mean that people may get the train or drive into Central Reading and park up there and then use the service, thus allowing more flowing traffic around the stadium and a higher income from the train service.

A system like that would be good. Brighton had that enforced on them as the Withdean is in a very residential area and there is no space for cars and the locals simply would not allow it.

A similar system for us may not be viable due to the location of our stadium. Plus I believe the Green Park station will still be a fair walk from the stadium making it less appealing to many.

[ScottishRoyal]

If my memory serves me correctly it was about a 400m walk so not too much of a deterrent, only an infrequent service after games would deter people.

[Huntley & Palmer]

I remain amazed that more local pubs / organisations / groups aren;t organising coaches to games. There must be loads of situations where 40 -50 people could travel together on a hired coach, they would get parking at the ground and priority at the end of the game yet we don;t see it happening.

They do. The Rose & Thistle, Spreadeagle and Prince Of Wales are three that I know of in the local area that have a bus to an from the game