Car Park Renewals

[Sutekh]

I am a season ticket holder 40yrs + and attend matches with my two grandchildren (under10)and my disabled brother. I have had a car park pass since the stadium opened, and have renewed for next season.
I received a letter yesterday from RFC saying all car parks will close 30 minutes BEFORE kick-off!
Absolutely ridiculous, car parks will be half empty, cars being turns away with nowhere to go ( only season ticket holders can buy car park permits), traffic is horrendous around the stadium, evidenced by the recent Villa and Newcastle games.
This is a serious own goal and will upset hundreds of season ticket holders! My brother can only walk a couple of hundred yards !
I have written to the club and would urge others to do the same.

Just playing devils advocate, but could you not get to the stadium earlier?

That isn't always possible though is it. High levels of traffic. Accidents, roadworks etc.....

Exactly, especially for evening games - all this is another total cock up by the club.

And will those with tickets get their money back - for that game - if they don't make it in time or is all this just a threat to try and get people to turn up earlier and car parks won't actually be closed at all.

To be honest I never understood the logic of the clubs car parking system, that is to say it's always a complete free for all on the day despite the fact that the club know precisely how many have bought car park STs and therefore should be able to mark out/cordon off spaces specifically for those people thus making it utterly irrelevant what time those people turn up as their space is always there.

[Sutekh]

I live circa 50 miles away and have no alternative but to drive. As others have said, sometimes you arrive late through no fault of your own. I have emailed the club just to add to the numbers but would imagine I will get the same response.

I see what they are saying but surely there could be some compromise where after the 30 minute deadline, car park can only be accessed from the north side so people who are concerned can access from the south side??

Stop being so sensible, the roads up to the stadium are private. Years ago i said that cars should be banned from the road outside the megastore to the hotel. Club wasnt interested. Dont expect them.to give a shit about fans now either

So we've had 20 years of all this before the need is felt to do something now? Which jobsworth has been on an H&S course recently then? On top of that I don't exactly believe the cavalier manner the buses are allowed to career around the stadium, and stop almost anywhere they feel like, before a game, is exactly safe either.

All in all it doesn't need draconian measures/threats like this it just needs a bit of careful thought and planning like some of the above suggestions.

As ever though it comes down to the total lack of respect and consideration from clubs and local authorities for anyone driving themselves, their friends and families to games despite the fact that these modern stadia are all supposedly built next to motorways and/or out of town locations to enable people to get to games freely and easily with minimal congestion and inconvenience.

[Physci]

I live 75 miles from the stadium so too have a car park pass (and have done since the stadium opened). When you put the 30 minute closure with the significant price increase (and match day permits now £15 and only available as advance purchases, and then only until 3 days before a match), this all seems to be a concerted effort to force a reduction in the number of cars on site at every match.

The cynic in me says this is a reaction to the objections to REP based on a lack of car parking - if the club reduce the number of cars on site then they can respond on the objections by saying it is less of an issue as fewer are affected ..... or am I being too much of a conspiracy theorist?

[Delboy]

I have contacted STAR they are going to take this up with the club, they have a member who sits on health and safety committee. I would urge others to contact them and the club.

[No Fixed Abode]

So fans are being punished for poor design of the infrastructure around the stadium. Anybody with a good knowledge of stadium design would have walkways for pedestrians separ8 from the roads.

The Allianz Arena being a prime example.

[Hampshire Royal]

Kes is right.

Wembley stadium is built in a heavily built-up area. The car parks do not cause any congestion.

[Platypuss]

Kes irs totally right - the mistakes were made in the design of the stadium accesses.
Whoever came up with that abomination had no idea about the dynamics of pedestrian flow and the need to keep peds and vehicles separate where possible, and look to minimise, points of contact.

As another illustration, who remembers the mercifully short-lived stairs of death on the slope outside the South/east stands?

[Fox Talbot]

Kes irs totally right - the mistakes were made in the design of the stadium accesses.
Whoever came up with that abomination had no idea about the dynamics of pedestrian flow and the need to keep peds and vehicles separate where possible, and look to minimise, points of contact.

As another illustration, who remembers the mercifully short-lived stairs of death on the slope outside the South/east stands?

It was so Ibrox it lasted just one game!

[No Fixed Abode]

I assume buses turning up after 14:30 won't be allowed access up to the stadium either? They'll have to drop off along the A33 somewhere or the road by CostCo?

[Gunny Fishcake]

This is absolute bollox and will cost the club in lost season tickets .

They've not got a chuffing clue how to look after customers.

£230 is a bloody rip off anyhow and the £50 rise is totally unjustified.

I''m writing to the club expressing may disgust but it will do bugger all.

Yet another rusty nail for the loyal supporter and maybe a straw that will break a few backs

[Hampshire Royal]

On a slightly different topic, I was talking with a West Ham fan at the weekend (ST holder, been going for years, takes his children etc) and he said that since moving to the t=Taxpayer Stadium, their fans are treated appallingly. He feels more like a customer than a fan.
What the people running footbal fail to understand, is that we are not customers, we are fans. Customers of Tesco will go to Asda (or whoever) if Tesco treat them badly. A Reading fan won't go to West Ham if Reading don't play well. It's in the blood.

[No Fixed Abode]

On a slightly different topic, I was talking with a West Ham fan at the weekend (ST holder, been going for years, takes his children etc) and he said that since moving to the t=Taxpayer Stadium, their fans are treated appallingly. He feels more like a customer than a fan.
What the people running footbal fail to understand, is that we are not customers, we are fans. Customers of Tesco will go to Asda (or whoever) if Tesco treat them badly. A Reading fan won't go to West Ham if Reading don't play well. It's in the blood.

They may not go to West Ham, but they're certainly going to the likes of Maidenhead United, Didcot Town, Hungerford United etc...

[AthleticoSpizz]

1/2 hour walk away, so thankfully not affected by any of this.

However..........should it be assumed that this ruling applies to the chairman, directors and the owners too?

[3points]

IT would be funny if those who are denied access afte 2.30pm just abandoned their cars on the two approach roads and stopped all bus movements as well. I'd be incredibly annoyed if i had paid for a season permit and got turned away. Where else do you park now that Green Park is off limits and the HP site is now being built on.

The club really haven't thought this through. Shambles of a decision

[Schards#2]

1/2 hour walk away, so thankfully not affected by any of this.

However..........should it be assumed that this ruling applies to the chairman, directors and the owners too?

I have asked the club if cars will have access to the hotel post 2.30, presumably they must and I can't see how that's policed

[Gunny Fishcake]

I've written to the club and got the same bog standard dogshite bollox reply about health and safety......I pointed out in my letter if the cause is health and safety ....please advise how many people have been either run over or injured by a car in the history of the Madejski.....suffice to say they said nothing....tossers

[Delboy]

I have contacted the Reading evening post they are going to run an article on this . The reporter is Hayley Fox if anyone wants to contact her, sorry do not have her number email Hayley. gox@trinitymirror.com

[No Fixed Abode]

Can someone get RL to do another car park protest?

[WAZZOCK]

Here's some advice for people and a different take on things...

The roads around the stadium is an accident waiting to happen in that period just before kick off. Numerous times I have seen near misses, particularly at the north entrance where the zebra crossing is. I can see exactly why these moves are being taken, and I would hazard a guess that these measures have been suggested by an authority who oversee the H&S of various similar venues.

Suggesting that the rise of £50 for a few hundred fans is a revenue generator is laughable given the great lengths the club have made to make watching Reading as affordable as possible. If you're in a car of three people, you'll still be paying less that you did last season. I believe I also read somewhere that there will be an additional 30 spaces available for disabled supporters - it goes without that these are available for free. The reality is, the car park itself was probably underpriced at £8 a pop, given that the park and ride is £7. People won't like it because price rises are never popular, but all they have done here is set a reasonable price after giving supporters a cheaper rate than they ought to have done for almost 20 years.

A word of advice for people, the Greyhound has always got plenty of space. Get your step count up and park in there if you've got such a big issue and don't want to park at the stadium. Alternatively there are plenty of free places to park on the other side of the A33. The Greyhound can also be a 'get out' for people who may arrive late due to traffic. All I'd suggest is give yourself plenty of time and enjoy yourself at either the hotel, Jazz Cafe or the bars outside the East Stand.

Comparing the Allianz Arena above is a ridiculous thing to do. Firstly the Allianz is younger and clearly had significantly more investment into it. Unfortunately due to being one of the first of the new batch of stadiums from the late 90s, a lot of clubs have learnt from our mistakes rather the other way round.

[WAZZOCK]

I've written to the club and got the same bog standard dogshite bollox reply about health and safety......I pointed out in my letter if the cause is health and safety ....please advise how many people have been either run over or injured by a car in the history of the Madejski.....suffice to say they said nothing....tossers

What a laughable sentiment!

No one has been killed by opening a plane door and falling out, but that doesn't mean it's not dangerous.