General New Stadium plans

[holdsteady]

I wish places like Britain and Oz would sort out their attitude to public transport. Years ago I stayed in an area not far from Frankfurt in Germany that wasn't too different from Oxfordshire. The tram network linked all the villages and towns. You could be in the tiniest village and just hop on a tram into town. Instead of having something like that, everyone wants to drive their monster truck to the front door. Then we can't have nice things like shiny new stadiums because the knock-on effects of parking are so hard on the locals ...

Oxfordshires local public transport is terrible, no train station in Abingdon, Witney, Wallingford, Wheatley, out lying parts of Oxford etc, no local train service linking Oxford to the surrounding county. A cheap, basic service with no frills but that links the county up in a quick and reliable way would really change peoples lives.

I live in Blackwater in north east Hampshire, thanks to being near to a decent rail service I have made it into Oxford city centre to meet mates for a few pints in only ten minute’s longer than it has taken them to get the bus in from places like Wheatley which is ridiculous.

 

[Scrongo]

For most people living in Oxford it's either going to be two awful bus journeys to the stadium. Or one awful bus journey to town then the train. People who drive to park & ride on a Saturday ,I think will struggle to park. They surely would have to extend it. Football fans parking as well as shoppers, day trippers, & train user's I can't see it being big enough.

 

[Peterdev]

Oxfordshires local public transport is terrible, no train station in Abingdon, Witney, Wallingford, Wheatley, out lying parts of Oxford etc, no local train service linking Oxford to the surrounding county. A cheap, basic service with no frills but that links the county up in a quick and reliable way would really change peoples lives.

I live in Blackwater in north east Hampshire, thanks to being near to a decent rail service I have made it into Oxford city centre to meet mates for a few pints in only ten minute’s longer than it has taken them to get the bus in from places like Wheatley which is ridiculous.

I live in Yateley just up the road from you. It’s a superb service from here. No3 bus at the end of the road to Blackwater and switch trains at Reading. I’ve done it in just under an hour to Oxford station.
Taking the car can be a drawback as it often takes 30 minutes when leaving a match

 

[Scotchegg]

For most people living in Oxford it's either going to be two awful bus journeys to the stadium. Or one awful bus journey to town then the train. People who drive to park & ride on a Saturday ,I think will struggle to park. They surely would have to extend it. Football fans parking as well as shoppers, day trippers, & train user's I can't see it being big enough.

That's a very pessimistic view.

Why would the bus journeys be awful? I often use public transport in to Oxford and have found it really easy, efficient and as cheap as driving and parking. Access from most places in and out of central Oxford will be already established. Access from Oxford to SB will likely improve with increased demand.

 

[Foley]

Not "dismissing" it Scotchers, just want a bit of realism when Colin reckons the diggers will be moving in after 7 months!

He never said that.
He said that the plan is for planning to be in in 7 months time.
That is totally different.

 

[Scrongo]

That's a very pessimistic view.

Why would the bus journeys be awful? I often use public transport in to Oxford and have found it really easy, efficient and as cheap as driving and parking. Access from most places in and out of central Oxford will be already established. Access from Oxford to SB will likely improve with increased demand.

Not pessimistic at all, reality more like. I don't drive& use public transport every day. If you really know Oxford well & public transport,you will know every main road into Oxford is a nightmare.Cowley road, London road, Abingdon road, Botley road perfect examples. I'm sorry but everybody knows it.

 

[The mighty Aldo]

I does concern me that the new emission charge to get into the centre of Oxford will start soon. That means the Park and Rides will be used more. So on a Saturday these places are going to be full anyway including SB
Has this been factored into the parking equation?

 

[Scrongo]

Not pessimistic at all, reality more like. I don't drive& use public transport every day. If you really know Oxford well & public transport,you will know every main road into Oxford is a nightmare.Cowley road, London road, Abingdon road, Botley road perfect examples. I'm sorry but everybody knows it.

Many a time I've not bothered catching the bus on them roads, because of traffic jams.So I've decided to walk into town & easily beat the bus.

 

[Colin B]

He never said that.
He said that the plan is for planning to be in in 7 months time.
That is totally different.

Exactly. Talk about twisting the truth!

I get exasperated by some of the negative drivel that certain posters write, based on nothing other than their own imagination. I know we're all entitled to our own view on the new stadium (on anything, in fact) and I welcome that, but some people seem to almost revel in being negative. It's not realism, as they try to claim, it's negativity. I never post anything without knowing the facts (the end of year date for planning is in the public domain and was stated by the club) so @Victor1986 responds by twisting it to claim I said something completely different.

There will be many twists and turns along the way, the club and its advisors know this, but loads of work has been done on this already, over a period of about three years. The club are not starting from scratch, so in Victor's own words I'd say to him "wait and see!"

 

[OX14]

Not pessimistic at all, reality more like. I don't drive& use public transport every day. If you really know Oxford well & public transport,you will know every main road into Oxford is a nightmare.Cowley road, London road, Abingdon road, Botley road perfect examples. I'm sorry but everybody knows it.

But you're are assuming no more extra busses will be laid on. Why can't as an example a couple of football special busses start from the city centre go all the way through Headington to Barton and then from there go down the bypass to Cutteslowe and continue to Stratfield Brake, where hopefully a bus terminal is built. There is no need to go into the city centre and change if services are run differently.

 

[Frankie]

Not pessimistic at all, reality more like. I don't drive& use public transport every day. If you really know Oxford well & public transport,you will know every main road into Oxford is a nightmare.Cowley road, London road, Abingdon road, Botley road perfect examples. I'm sorry but everybody knows it.

Not perfect examples. I live Cumnor area (30 years) and ‘most’ of the time I get into the middle of Oxford in 6 minutes. During rush hours it would take longer by car but buses would only take 10 mins with stops.

 

[Scrongo]

Not perfect examples. I live Cumnor area (30 years) and ‘most’ of the time I get into the middle of Oxford in 6 minutes. During rush hours it would take longer by car but buses would only take 10 mins with stops.

Really?? Must be just my imagination then.

 

[Joey's Left Boot]

I does concern me that the new emission charge to get into the centre of Oxford will start soon. That means the Park and Rides will be used more. So on a Saturday these places are going to be full anyway including SB
Has this been factored into the parking equation?

We won't know until planning s are released but I'm sure traffic and parking will of course be taken into the equation.

With regards to the ZEZ in town, the majority of traffic into the city centre on a Saturday is for the Westgate these days and the routes to that aren't covered by the ZEZ so shopper can still drive to it directly and park until the car park becomes full.

We have football special buses that currently run to the Kassam which I'm sure will be continued and extended to cover Cowley, BBL, Headington and provide a one bus solution to Stratfield Brake. Add into that the possibility of buses direct to SB from all of the park and rides plus increased numbers by rail thanks to a train station 600 metres away it'll be easy to get to SB.

On the train station, I out on here a few hundred pages ago about East West Rail which will connect Oxford's two station with even more of the national network. Its a perfect location logistically for a stadium.

Plus, it'll only have a large crowd and increased traffic for a few hours on average once every couple of weeks 9 months of the year.

Can't wait to see more details before the years out.

 

[OX14]

we now have a Council (Cherwell) who are not exactly fully behind all of this and lots of others (Kidlington "watch" mob and the LibDems) who will not go away. Whenever the Planning process starts prepare for massive obstacles to be thrown at the scheme. The "everyone will use public transport" argument will not work and the parking will be a major problem. As I said, let's see how things go.

But thousands of people are behind this plan unlike national housebuilders who just have money behind them and a good legal team. OUFC have money, a board who have done it before, a good legal team and most importantly thousands of locals who will back it. Sure a few nimbys will throw obstacles and misinformation to try and delay but the council would be daft to not approve something where it benefits the whole community and doesn't cost them anything (actually saves them 128k a year in running costs).

Let's not forget alot of people are letting OUFC do all the talking at the moment when it comes to the planning and the opposition claims. Further down the line and if the plan was rejected it may not be the case anymore.

 

[Scrongo]

Really?? Must be just my imagination then.

It would help if they weren't digging up the same old roads every couple of months as well . surely it would save money ,if you you resurfaced the roads properly.Instead of cheaply skimming over it every 6 months. Oh I forgot it's oxfordshire county council mmmmm!!

 

[Banbury2018]

If parking is our biggest problem then I think we'll be fine.

I understand local concerns about roads being blocked, but I can't see that those who are driving will risk leaving their cars on a residential street when there will be parking available in the park and ride a 5 minutes walk from the turnstiles. And those that do park up in Kiddie will likely do so at pubs which will openly welcome the increased trade.

Public transport is massively under used at the moment, but that's because the options are so poor. SB would allow me to get a train or bus from Bicester in half the time that it takes me to drive to the Kassam. Taking driving out will also allow me to have a few beers before/after the game if I go with mates, or have more flexibility if I take the kids.

The kids are excited enough to be at the ground a few hours before kickoff so I can get away with parking on Grenoble Rd ready for a quick getaway. But that's harder to do if it's wet and cold. If I wanted to, I could leave my house at 2 and could be close to being home by 5.30, with happier kids and a happier Mrs Egg. FLB (football life balance) is a real thing and all is improved with decent public transport links.

correct me if I am wrong isnt this why the club have had a consultancy company working on the move and potential problems for approximately the last two years is it not?

 

[Oxford57]

I was talking to a bloke who lives in kidlington yesterday , I asked him what he thought about it all, more concerned about the proposed new housing rather than the football ground, as the housing would change Kidlington more

 

[Scrongo]

But you're are assuming no more extra busses will be laid on. Why can't as an example a couple of football special busses start from the city centre go all the way through Headington to Barton and then from there go down the bypass to Cutteslowe and continue to Stratfield Brake, where hopefully a bus terminal is built. There is no need to go into the city centre and change if services are run differently.

I know perfect situation ,but who's going to fund it.Certainly it won't be the bus company's.They have only just cut all the services & scrapped returns & whatever to save money.They have definitely gone 2 steps backwards.

 

[Scotchegg]

I know perfect situation ,but who's going to fund it.Certainly it won't be the bus company's.They have only just cut all the services & scrapped returns & whatever to save money.They have definitely gone 2 steps backwards.

Bus companies will run routes where there's demand, as that's how they make money.

 

[Oxymoron]

As a part of the planning process (or conditions if you like), the club will have to make a contribution towards subsidising and/or improving transport links (albeit in the form of a cash sum to OCC, who then distribute it as they see fit). I would expect this to encompass the whole county and not just the city, so the bus companies can initially run new services without making a loss.

What happens when the money runs out is a different matter....