Car Park Renewals

[Delboy]

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.

[lewesroyal]

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?

[No Fixed Abode]

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.....

[lewesroyal]

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.....

Because everyone is trying to rock up 5 mins bfore kick off

[No Fixed Abode]

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.....

Because everyone is trying to rock up 5 mins bfore kick off

Not 'everyone'.

Surely it isn't too much of a problem at the moment as the stadium is half empty anyway.

[Delboy]

A car park pass should be a guaranteed space, I normally arrive 45 minutes before kick off, but on a number of occasions despite leaving earlier there are huge traffic delays, ask anyone that went to Villa, Newcastle games!

[Nameless]

If only they could speed up the REP development this sort of thing would no longer be an issue....

Seriously there will be a reason for this and I suspect it is to do with trying to improve the traffic flow by getting people to arrive a little earlier. I can't believe they would really lock the gates at 2.30with empty car parks and queues of people who had already paid to park !

Rather than writing why not ring the club (ask for customer services) and get them to explain more clearly. You will get more from a call than a letter....

[Delboy]

The club have written back and just say health and safety!

[Hampshire Royal]

I have a season ticket, as does my son. I travel in from Essex and pick my son up from Ealing. The only way I can sensibly get to the ground is by car, which is why I bought a car park season ticket. I have often got to evening games just before the game kicks off. The main hold-ups for me are on the North Circular, not around the ground.

I phoned 'Customer Services' and asked whether what I read on the club site about closing the car parks promptly 30 minutes before kick off was true, and I was told that it was. I asked why, and was told that it was down to safety reasons. I then asked whether it was really so that the club could make more money from the car park by charging people £15 a game for parking, thus increasing car park revenue by 50%. He,of course, said no as the club don't make a profit from car parking. In any case, how would the club know that I, having paid my 230 for a season's parking, am not going to arrive at the ground on time until I don't and how can they then sell the space not used by me to someone else? The biggest 'safety' issue is not entering the car park, but the lack of stewarding when leaving it!!

This is my 50th season of supporting Reading, which has not always been easy. (It makes me laugh when people write on here that this season they are watching the worst-ever football played by a Reading team). This could well be my last season of watching Reading live. I cannot be alone amongst car park ST holders, in that there are others who drive significant distances to the games.

[North Somerset Royal]

I emailed the club last week saying that I thought that it is most unfair to fans who travel long distances, have no viable public transport option and may be delayed through no fault of their own. Although I normally arrive at least 90 mins before the KO there have been occasions when due to accidents on the M5 or M4 I have not arrived until shortly before or in one case after KO. Were they seriosly suggesting that after my having paid for a parking space they would refuse admission in such circumstances. This the reply I received this morning.

Thank you for contacting Reading Football Club regarding changes to the onsite car parks for the 2017/18 season and apologies for the delay in getting back to you.

The primary reason as to why onsite car parks will close 30 minutes prior to kick-off is because there are currently too many cars arriving close to kick-off when a significant number of pedestrians are on site. Pedestrians and cars simply do not mix and this has been highlighted as a significant safety concern that needs to be addressed.

Closing the car parks earlier will reduce vehicular movement at our busiest times and also allow for better management of onsite buses as we look to increase the public transport options to Madejski Stadium. In addition, the immediate area around the stadium is significantly busier than it has been in previous seasons and these new measures are designed to ease congestion at peak times. We believe these changes will lead to a better experience for all supporters, regardless of whether they arrive by car, bus or on foot.

Reading Football Club fully understand that this change will not please everyone and it may regrettably lead to a minority of supporters not renewing. However, we are not making changes to something that works perfectly. By far the most amount of negative feedback that the club receives from its supporters relates to onsite car parks, the main cause of which is too many cars arriving too close to kick-off and the club has a duty to the majority of our supporters to address these concerns. As part of making improvements to our improved traffic management plan, Reading Football Club did look at numerous other stadiums and found that in the rare examples of where onsite parking was available, the early closure of car parks is commonplace and often far exceeding the 30 minutes that we will be implementing at the Madejski Stadium.

Reading Football Club did look at introducing the change earlier this season but delayed it so that supporters can make an informed choice whether to purchase seasonal car parking for the 2017/18 season, to look at alternative travel to Madejski Stadium, of which there are many options, or regrettably not to renew altogether. Please note that it is only the onsite car parks at Madejski Stadium which will close 30 minutes prior to kick off and all offsite car parks will operate as normal.

Thank you again or taking the time to write to us and on behalf of Reading FC I’d like to take this opportunity to thank you for your longstanding support. Should you have any further feedback, comments or suggestions then please feel free to contact us at any point.

Kind Regards

Rob

.

I suspect that the prime motive behind this plus the 50% price hike is that they are trying to force people onto public transport in preparation for when REP is built and parking at the stadium will be virtually non existent. All well and good if you live locally but for those of us who are exiles it will bevery difficult

[East Grinstead Royal]

The club have written back and just say health and safety!

Scenario 1: 100 cars turn up between 2.30 and 3, all occupants expecting to be able to park in the space they have paid for. All successfully park.

Scenario 2: aware of the new rules, so desperate to arrive by 2.30, some of those 100 cars plus others delayed because of congestion somewhere between home and the stadium, or because of weather, etc, etc, turn up after 2.30 and are told the space that they have paid for and which is therefore unoccupied, cannot be used. So they have a matter of minutes in which to find somewhere else to park or to give up and go home, losing not only the value of the parking space but also the tickets to the match which, again, they have paid for.

Which of these is more likely to lead to a health and safety incident? And what, exactly, is the H&S issue the club is trying to protect itself - sorry, I meant the public - against? Have there been incidents of trampling at the turnstiles in recent weeks? Have cars been parked in a reckless manner by drivers arriving minutes before kick-off?

[East Grinstead Royal]

Just read North Somerset Royal's post which does at least answer my questions and puts the whole thing into context. Unfortunately, the club completely failed to address the issue of the long distance traveller being delayed en route.
So... how many of us have been saying that the worst thing about the matchday experience is cars arriving after 2.30? A hell of a lot, it would seem! Maybe there should be a ban on people arriving by foot or on buses after 2.30 as well?
This really does seem like an issue that should have been raised with STAR.

[Schards#2]

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??

[Whore Jackie]

The Nags bus (and other pub ones) generally arrive after 2.30 too, wonder if they've been told to leave earlier from next season.

If they're going to close the whole stadium road complex at 2.30, that's going to scupper a fair few watching managers, scouts, non-players etc, who always seem to be rolling up after I've parked up at 2.50.

[Whore Jackie]

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??

Yep, access to the car parks via Northern Way and then parallel with Green Park would seem a decent compromise in avoiding most of the pedestrian activity.

[Schards#2]

Basically got the same reply as North Somerset Royal



They seem prepared for some season ticket holders not to renew over this

[East Grinstead Royal]

Trouble is, it's not the ones who don't renew that will be the problem. It'll be the dozens who have renewed and are prevented from getting access to what they have paid for because of a problem totally beyond their control.

[Tartanb]

I only found out about this policy yesterday when I received my car park renewal letter. I was really upset but slept on it. Still felt the same today about it, so wrote a three page letter to RFC today just to get it off my chest and told them not only will I NOT be renewing our car park permit, but we will also NOT be renewing our 2 season tickets. Having been a season ticket holders for 23 years, I am gutted at having made this stand, but their disgraceful ill thought out new policy is simply not something I am willing to accept.

My assertion is that the new policy, rather than improve safety, might well lead to future accidents. Why? Well can you imagine if you've through no fault of your own been held up badly in traffic and know you're on the cusp of being caught by the 30 minute barriers down rule. The best drivers in the world under these circumstances aren't likely to be exercising sufficient caution as they zoom up the hill towards the car park. I put it to RFC that being a pedestrian in that situation was not exactly going to be safe. Then the stewards are going to have the un-envied task of having to direct those so called 'late' cars away from the stadium to-wards the oncoming pedestrians, again very unsafe. I imagine tempers will flare.

I don't believe anyone has properly done the maths on all those late arriving cars that they refer to. In the worst cases, like the Newcastle game, many of those arriving late at the stadium might well have set off in plenty of time. My assertion is that by introducing this totally ridiculous 30 minute window they are in fact only going to increase congestion big time 30-60 minutes before KO, because there will likely be around 25% more cars trying to travel in that time slot (i.e. the fans like myself that might normally would have aimed to arrive 0-30 minutes before KO).

Will that 25% increase make a difference? Well just reflect on the Newcastle game and all the mayhem that an attendance 35% bigger than normal caused. Of course it will make a difference.

Can you imagine a Newcastle style game next season (forgetting the fact this won't happen). Did anyone travelling on the M4 feel unsafe like myself as the 2 lane backlog fed back into the main motorway? Sat their looking in the rear mirror at the HGV's hurtling towards you. Well just think about next season when the new rules are in place. Cars will be turned back trying to get into the stadium making the chaotic scenes even worse at the stadium, which in turn has the potential to lead to even bigger backlogs on the A33, M4 etc.

I really feel sorry for those of you who are travelling long distances, my journey is (was) only 10 miles. I regard myself not only a pretty serious Reading fan, but Scotland fan as well - I've been to 43 countries just to see Scotland play and I rarely miss one of their away games. When I do, it's MY choice. But the thought of missing a Reading game 10 miles away, through no fault of mine just because there was heavy traffic, was too much to handle. No thanks RFC, bad decision.

[Harpers So Solid Crew]

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

[Nameless]

Making the road past the maegastore pedestrianised would surely create absolute chaos !

The basic problem as ever is the stadium was built in the wrong place - or rather the A33 was built in the wrong place. If the road went the other side of the ground it would be easy to separate cars and pedestrians. Can't see them changing that now though.