I attended the pre-friendly game against Leigh with my 4 year old son last week, of which he did enjoy, everything but the game, but thats a different post, but I was appalled at the after game organisation with regards to people who lived towards Irlam and Cadishead and further afield. We did not want to pay five pounds parking as we knew far to well, as to the chaos that was to unfold after the game as to exiting the grounds.
So we opted to get dropped off near the ground beforehand, which was fine, but when the game had finished, the only option we had, was to walk back towards the main road and bear left heading towards a bus stop. Bearing left, we had no alternative but to walk on the road, with no pavement, bearing in mind, I had a giddy 4year old to control, with cars also trying to build up enough speed to join the dual carriageway. At one point myself and Mr.Giddy, had to wait at the ajoining junction to the Barton stretch, to try and cross onto the middle grass verge, to then cross again over the carriageway, to walk past the Airport, to then cross back onto the middle grass verge, and again the much more busier carriageway, to catch the 67 bus at the half hidden bus stop opposite side to the airport!!!!!
As you could well imagine, plenty of tight hand grips and dragging, for Mr.Giddy who was not impressed, by now, and neither was I by this point. Utter chaos and extremely dangerous for 4 year olds and older.
IDEA!!!
Bus service provided to a central point for Irlam and Cadishead supporters for after the home matches, as there seemed to be enough buses waiting to run the opposite direction for supporters, so maybe they could just spare one or two!!!!!. Charging £1 a go?? These buses would only run once one way as to avoid the traffic build up going back towards the ground???? And so when the journey is complete, they could take more Salford residents back home as the buses would be on there way.????
Daft idea or what??? Sorry just me having a common -sense moment.
PK

So those who have had the privilege of being within walking distance to The Willows... now get privileged travel to the new stadium... those who have forked out hundreds over the years to get to The Willows.. now have to continue to do so to get to the new stadium. Oh to be a local to The Willows eh.

Fact is... there is a large catchment area in Irlam and Cadishead... and with rugby league thriving in Cadishead and the local schools... it would be great if the club would think about it properly and offer a service to the new stadium that families could consider. Everything is being accommodated for those coming from one direction and not the other. You want to try getting a bus from Cadishead on a Friday night in any direction before a game.... let alone one going in the Cadishead direction at 10pm after a game. They only come when they want to... at least if there was a dedicated bus service on a Friday at a set time... we would be certain of when we would have to leave the house to get to the ground. As it stands... it's always a gamble... the least they could do is trial one bus for a few games to see if it's viable... and let the people at the local Rhinos and Hornets clubs know what is happening and see if parents want to use it.

I think the club need Irlam and Cadishead if they want to increase the support... They have even named suites at the stadium after Irlam and Cadishead... why not tap into in properly... why not employ/ ask for volunteers and form a local team of people who live in Irlam and Cadishead to assist the club in working in the area. There are plenty of us around here who would be willing to be the clubs representatives for this area and assist in promoting the club... getting into the schools etc who could look at arranging these kinds of things and take the pressure off those at the club.

Christ on a bike, you'd think you were travelling hundreds of miles. Try getting back to Preston after a match via public transport.

The point being... the club need to more to give the people of Irlam and Cadishead more incentive to go to the game... It's a perfect catchment area for the club. I've lost count of how many people around here have asked when the first game is... so... why are people asking the question ? Are the club doing enough locally ? People have said that they would go if the traffic wasn't going to be as bad and having nowhere to park.... Easy solution... Just like the train service from Deansgate and Oxford Road that goes to United games... get some info at the bus stops with fixtures and departure times of a reliable match bus service.

Personally... I feel a bit annoyed that the ground is closer to me... yet it's going to be no cheaper to get to... It should be easy to take my family to the games now... but it's no easier at all. The club are doing what they can to make it easier for some by giving them options... yet the area that they should be making an effort with have no option at all apart from the same trek they are used to having.

I understand that it is difficult for others (Preston I understand must be a real pain)... to be fair... there can't be a huge amount of people travelling from Preston on the train to the games... People within 4-5 miles of the ground are already looking for reasons not to go... and they should be looking for reasons TO go... and the club should be doing all they can to tap into it.

An ideal solution would be to run a bus from Eccles that drops off at the ground, heads over to Irlam picks up and drops off at the stadium and then heads down Liverpoo Rd to Eccles and carrys on making that trip. You'd think that an independant bus company with a double decker or two would look at that as you'd like to think they'd make enough money out of it.

It's the stadium company, not Salford Reds that organised the park and ride. The park and ride is being run by Goodwin's on a commercial basis... i.e. they will run a service from anywhere that will be profitable. I very much doubt that there is currently enough support in I&C for Goodwin's to run the same kind of service that they are operating from the Willows. HOWEVER, a park and ride from Irlam might just work... Irlam Station offers the best service of the 3 train stations in the vicinity of the stadium (Eccles and Patricroft being the others) so if the park and ride could operate from somewhere near Irlam Station (not the station itself as there's no car park there, unfortunately) it could be marketed to fans travelling by train and those coming from Warrington way in the car (I believe green travel info is being sent out to away fans so it will be easy enough to let them know about an I&C P&R option). Somewhere in Lower Irlam would make sense for the pick up point and it just so happens that there's a few pubs around there as well. As I understand it, the Goodwin's drivers have been asking punters using the current service where they have come from and if there should be other pick up points so they are open to adapting the service to meet demand. I'm guessing they won't be picking up many supporters from I&C at the moment so they won't be getting many people suggesting a service goes there. Perhaps you could give them a call/email and suggest they trial an I&C service linking with the trains from Warrington and Manchester? The more people who ask for it, the more likely it is to happen. gogoodwins.co.uk/?page_id=13

It's the stadium company, not Salford Reds that organised the park and ride. The park and ride is being run by Goodwin's on a commercial basis... i.e. they will run a service from anywhere that will be profitable. I very much doubt that there is currently enough support in I&C for Goodwin's to run the same kind of service that they are operating from the Willows. HOWEVER, a park and ride from Irlam might just work... Irlam Station offers the best service of the 3 train stations in the vicinity of the stadium (Eccles and Patricroft being the others) so if the park and ride could operate from somewhere near Irlam Station (not the station itself as there's no car park there, unfortunately) it could be marketed to fans travelling by train and those coming from Warrington way in the car (I believe green travel info is being sent out to away fans so it will be easy enough to let them know about an I&C P&R option). Somewhere in Lower Irlam would make sense for the pick up point and it just so happens that there's a few pubs around there as well. As I understand it, the Goodwin's drivers have been asking punters using the current service where they have come from and if there should be other pick up points so they are open to adapting the service to meet demand. I'm guessing they won't be picking up many supporters from I&C at the moment so they won't be getting many people suggesting a service goes there. Perhaps you could give them a call/email and suggest they trial an I&C service linking with the trains from Warrington and Manchester? The more people who ask for it, the more likely it is to happen. gogoodwins.co.uk/?page_id=13