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PARK, IN PRIDE PARK?
It's all very well for Derby City Council to pat
themselves on the back and trumpet on about what
a success Pride Park is. As usual with anything
that happens in Derby, the drawbacks are swept
under the carpet in the hope that eventually,
they might disappear. This seems to be the case
with The Pride Park Stadium and the parking
space, or lack of it, there. Of course, a City
Council can't be expected to think of everything
for itself, even with the allocation of council
taxpayer's money to various consultants where any
'large' projects are involved.
This is especially obvious with reference to
Derby City Council's planning department at Roman
House, Friargate. They forgot to plan for a
public car park there. It is easy to come to the
conclusion that this is to discourage people from
calling in! A similar lack of planning seems to
have been employed at Pride Park Stadium. This
facility gives pleasure to thousands of people
who go to watch matches there. The problem is,
due to the lack of car parking space, large
numbers of supporters park their vehicles on
Nottingham Road in Chaddesden and London Road,
Wilmorton whilst they attend the match, making
driving more hazardous, especially in Chaddesden
where the road is not as wide as London Road.
The A52 is blocked at the Pride Park exit by cars
queuing back on to it, so general chaos ensues,
potentially deadly where traffic is concerned.
Add to this the fact that the police often close
the road to other road users when the football
finishes, thereby inconveniencing everyone else
going about their business, and the picture is
complete - a total lack of will on the part of
the City Council to overcome the problem. There
is land still available nearby which Derby County
could lease or purchase to remove the problems at
a stroke. However, that doesn't seem to be the
way that things are done around here.
Contrast the situation in and around Pride Park
every match day, and the Council's inability to
act, with the situation elsewhere in the City,
where no (taxpayer's) expense is spared in the
prosecution of motorists who park where they
shouldn't do. Wardens everywhere, even mobile,
and in police vehicles, to stamp on the unwary
motorist who parks where he shouldn't, or whose
car park ticket runs out in his absence! Of
course, no one is advocating breaking the law by
illegal parking, but isn't there something wrong
when traffic which is sometimes light is
ruthlessly jumped on with all the force of the
law, and yet chaos is allowed to reign elsewhere?
Is this not something directly to do with
planning?
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