Villa Park Redevelopment

[Risso]

I was amazed twice last season at how easy it was to get to and from Old Trafford with 75,000 people in attendance

So why is that ?  Buses trains car parks ,  a combination

It's out of town, nowhere near any residential areas. It's got it's own tram station and the trams are a miles better option than the trains in Brum so they get people back into the city centre much more quickly. Plus it's bordered on two sides by two major A roads, which are both dual carriageways so it's easier to keep going. Villa is surrounded by narrow residential streets with everybody trying to go in one of two ways mainly. And there are loads of pinch points (junctions, traffic lights etc) which slows everybody down.

[PeterWithe]

Liverpool is a very good point, its in an area similar in makeup to ours, and they have constantly expanded the capacity without seemingly worrying about the lack of transport infrastructure in the way we are.

I wonder if its possible to dust off those plans to build the 'sprint' bus lanes back into town which were part of the Commonwealth plans but were, I think, abandoned?

[LeeB]

I was amazed twice last season at how easy it was to get to and from Old Trafford with 75,000 people in attendance

So why is that ?  Buses trains car parks ,  a combination

Trams as well

[dave.woodhall]

The crux of the problem is that we're funneling traffic onto what used to be and maybe still is the busiest stretch of motorway in Western Europe while trains have to go through the hopelessly inadequate Proofhouse Junction.

[chrisw1]

The crux of the problem is that we're funneling traffic onto what used to be and maybe still is the busiest stretch of motorway in Western Europe while trains have to go through the hopelessly inadequate Proofhouse Junction.

tbf getting onto the motorway after games (via the Expressway at least) is never much of a problem.  It tends to be the gridlocks at junctions and lights before that.

[Gareth]

Maybe the club threaten to move to a site nr the NEC to get the transport issue moving. Moving Villa to Solihul, def no for me but may focus a few people at BCC.

There's no suitable land near the NEC.

Especially not since they've up everything just east of it for the bloody HS2

Ok, maybe not in close proximity to NEC but a site where we could look at as leverage to get things done for VP expansion.

There is nowhere. You'd need two motorway junctions, arterial roads leading to them, other roads leading to the arterial roads, train stations or other upgraded public transport and that's before the other infrastructure.

Villa Park is always the right place, for me the only sentiment left is around the site of VP itself…the stadium lost its mystique when Ellis vandalised the Trinity with the Lego carbuncle….the Holte facade is all that is particularly special nowadays in my eyes.

The transport etc can be vastly improved with inclination…the clubs only driver is to get planning approved, we are kidding ourselves if we think they have any interest in improving the experience for us once we have purchased our tickets.

Out of town parking with shuttle buses can work to alleviate some of the congestion, however you know the clubs first instinct will be see what they can make out of it £ wise rather than see the bigger picture….saw that last game when they ran buses and charged was it £5 per person per way…I park for a fiver with 4 in the car, others park for free why would anyone pay those prices?

Train stations need upgrading - don’t think anyone holds their breath on that one

Traffic flow could be improved if the authorities were bothered, one way systems for 2/3 hours before and after games to stop the Ubers et. going against the flow towards the ground…perhaps a designated taxi rank.…traffic control at junctions / roundabouts where the traffic stops…always seem plenty of police in the ground, don’t see many afterwards trying to help people get clear of the ground.

I’d hazard a guess that Purslow when he was there or anyone else with any power has never been outside the ground on match day or been on a concourse to see the shit service and facilities…they truly don’t care…there might be a bit of angst about low spend per head but they aren’t bothered so long as the seats are full.

They feed this bull of with the new stand we’ll have the zone for people to go before / after the game being an answer - that won’t accommodate nearly as many as the capacity increases by - don’t get me wrong it will be a nice facility for those that want to use it but it won’t take away numbers trying to get in/away.

[Drummond]

The crux of the problem is that we're funneling traffic onto what used to be and maybe still is the busiest stretch of motorway in Western Europe while trains have to go through the hopelessly inadequate Proofhouse Junction.

tbf getting onto the motorway after games (via the Expressway at least) is never much of a problem.  It tends to be the gridlocks at junctions and lights before that.

When it was made one way for an hour or so after games, to get to the motorways it worked really well. For cars at least. I suppose they need to sort the public transport issue, because that would reduce the number of cars.

[dave.woodhall]

I think that they know there's a problem; they certainly did after Everton last season. They just don't seem able to sort it. Whether that's because it's beyond their control or they're not arsed as it only affects the plebs I don't know. If, for example,  the catering improves next season a cynic might say that it's more proof of Purslow's priorities. 

[Risso]

The crux of the problem is that we're funneling traffic onto what used to be and maybe still is the busiest stretch of motorway in Western Europe while trains have to go through the hopelessly inadequate Proofhouse Junction.

tbf getting onto the motorway after games (via the Expressway at least) is never much of a problem.  It tends to be the gridlocks at junctions and lights before that.

Yes once you're onto the Expressway, things are normally OK. It's the 45 minutes it can often take to get to the Expressway in the first place that's the problem.

[pauliewalnuts]

The crux of the problem is that we're funneling traffic onto what used to be and maybe still is the busiest stretch of motorway in Western Europe while trains have to go through the hopelessly inadequate Proofhouse Junction.

tbf getting onto the motorway after games (via the Expressway at least) is never much of a problem.  It tends to be the gridlocks at junctions and lights before that.

Yes once you're onto the Expressway, things are normally OK. It's the 45 minutes it can often take to get to the Expressway in the first place that's the problem.

I'd also say that in recent seasons, they've managed to make that actually much worse than it used to be by pissing around with the traffic flow up Aston Lane.

[pauliewalnuts]

The crux of the problem is that we're funneling traffic onto what used to be and maybe still is the busiest stretch of motorway in Western Europe while trains have to go through the hopelessly inadequate Proofhouse Junction.

tbf getting onto the motorway after games (via the Expressway at least) is never much of a problem.  It tends to be the gridlocks at junctions and lights before that.

When it was made one way for an hour or so after games, to get to the motorways it worked really well. For cars at least. I suppose they need to sort the public transport issue, because that would reduce the number of cars.

Ah yes this is what I was referring to in the post above. They've totally fucked that up by removing the one way. Genuinely have no idea who thought that'd improve things and ages later not realised it made things much worse.

[Drummond]

I reckon they thought it was cheaper. And that was it.

[Drummond]

They did it on Aston Hall Road and Queens Rd too. I could get to the motorway so easily

[Percy McCarthy]

From the Villa Park expansion thread on skyscrapercity:

“Not sure where to put this, but as the discussion is about Villa Park and Witton train station, might as well go here.
I visited Birmingham for the first time on Friday to see Springsteen at VP, and i was impressed with New Street, seems a fairly modern train station, staff were very friendly, and even though it was 5pm Friday on the day of a big concert, i didn't get any 'chaos' vibes at all.
Got to Witton and my heart sank as i knew there was zero chance of getting back on the train for the return journey.
I don't blame Villa at all, its not their job to build the country's infrastructure, that is the job of government and council. You can have any amount of subsidy for projects that benefit the top 1%, but football fans and anyone outside of the M25 can just go **** themselves it seems.
As well as a big redevelopment of Witton station, it is absolutely crying out for a tramline down the A34 into the City centre to facilitate the movement of supporters to and from the ground (and spur investment on the route). This would have been done 50 years ago in every other Western European country, but we're so beaten down here and just seem to love licking that boot and accepting our fate.

Anyway, concert was great of course, didn't get to see much of Birmingham due to lack of time, but it does feel 'under construction' in a big way. I think if progress continues + HS2 etc, the city centre will look amazing in 10-15 years time.

Final word - we of course had to walk the 3-4km back in to town from Villa Park after the concert, which was not so bad as it was a lovely warm summer evening, the journey only dampened by being shot at with a pellet/BB gun by someone in a speeding car on the A34. I'm assuming this is a local custom for welcoming guests to the city 😁
I'm pleased to report although 3 of us were hit, no lasting damage ”

Blimey!

[astonvilla82]

From the Villa Park expansion thread on skyscrapercity:

“Not sure where to put this, but as the discussion is about Villa Park and Witton train station, might as well go here.
I visited Birmingham for the first time on Friday to see Springsteen at VP, and i was impressed with New Street, seems a fairly modern train station, staff were very friendly, and even though it was 5pm Friday on the day of a big concert, i didn't get any 'chaos' vibes at all.
Got to Witton and my heart sank as i knew there was zero chance of getting back on the train for the return journey.
I don't blame Villa at all, its not their job to build the country's infrastructure, that is the job of government and council. You can have any amount of subsidy for projects that benefit the top 1%, but football fans and anyone outside of the M25 can just go **** themselves it seems.
As well as a big redevelopment of Witton station, it is absolutely crying out for a tramline down the A34 into the City centre to facilitate the movement of supporters to and from the ground (and spur investment on the route). This would have been done 50 years ago in every other Western European country, but we're so beaten down here and just seem to love licking that boot and accepting our fate.

Anyway, concert was great of course, didn't get to see much of Birmingham due to lack of time, but it does feel 'under construction' in a big way. I think if progress continues + HS2 etc, the city centre will look amazing in 10-15 years time.

Final word - we of course had to walk the 3-4km back in to town from Villa Park after the concert, which was not so bad as it was a lovely warm summer evening, the journey only dampened by being shot at with a pellet/BB gun by someone in a speeding car on the A34. I'm assuming this is a local custom for welcoming guests to the city 😁
I'm pleased to report although 3 of us were hit, no lasting damage ”

Blimey!

could you have got on at Aston after the concert