FYI - Arena News

[tyke bhoy]

cnosni wrote: Although what needs to be remembered is that the bus station and the railway station are only a 10 minute walk from the proposed site, that virtually every city centre car park, not just Woodhouse Lane and the Merrion Centre, are within easy walking distance and we would be looking at park and ride facilities at various locations to ensure the free movement of people and vehicles. I think Councillor Carter is being optimistic in his 10 minutes from the stations. I would consider myself a faster than average walker and would be pushed to walk from the bus station in much under 10 minutes to the nearer east side of the site (Wade Lane). The southern side of the site could be accessed between the Yorkshire Bank HQ and Stick and Twist having cut through the Merrion Centre but I too would have to break into a trot to get from the station concourse to there in 10 minutes. It also takes me nearly 5 minutes to get from some of the platforms in the station to the concourse.I think the councillor may also be underestimating the number of people who fall into the category I jokingly call the terminally lazy when it comes to the Car Parks. The Light and St Johns are only slightly further afield than Woodhouse Lane and would fit into the 5 - 10 minute walk category. However the Criterion and opposite NCP car park off the loop and the Markets car parks are virtually adjacent to the stations with similar walking times. The Union Street market car parks and those behind the other side of Eastgate are due to disappear under the Eastgate Quarter (if it is still going ahead) and/or the terminus for our proposed "tram".Impressive pictures off Glasgow.

[cnosni]

tyke bhoy wrote: cnosni wrote: Although what needs to be remembered is that the bus station and the railway station are only a 10 minute walk from the proposed site, that virtually every city centre car park, not just Woodhouse Lane and the Merrion Centre, are within easy walking distance and we would be looking at park and ride facilities at various locations to ensure the free movement of people and vehicles. I think Councillor Carter is being optimistic in his 10 minutes from the stations. I would consider myself a faster than average walker and would be pushed to walk from the bus station in much under 10 minutes to the nearer east side of the site (Wade Lane). The southern side of the site could be accessed between the Yorkshire Bank HQ and Stick and Twist having cut through the Merrion Centre but I too would have to break into a trot to get from the station concourse to there in 10 minutes. It also takes me nearly 5 minutes to get from some of the platforms in the station to the concourse.I think the councillor may also be underestimating the number of people who fall into the category I jokingly call the terminally lazy when it comes to the Car Parks. The Light and St Johns are only slightly further afield than Woodhouse Lane and would fit into the 5 - 10 minute walk category. However the Criterion and opposite NCP car park off the loop and the Markets car parks are virtually adjacent to the stations with similar walking times. The Union Street market car parks and those behind the other side of Eastgate are due to disappear under the Eastgate Quarter (if it is still going ahead) and/or the terminus for our proposed "tram".Impressive pictures off Glasgow. Defo more than 10 mins walk.Its 0.67 miles from the train station.Uphill most of the way, and in the case of Albion Street which would be the direct route from the station to the arena,very little to offer the visitor to Leeds any sort of decent night out,unless you count Greggs.As this will be the main walking route from the station then just imagine the welcoming site of the escalator at the bottom of Albion Street as you walk down New Station Street.Coupled with the wonderful BHS bus shelters that gradually come into view then if all the visitors to Leeds do is go from the station to the arena then they will think we live in a dump.Lets hope they bulldoze that chuffing escalator,and brick up those bus shelters.

[tyke bhoy]

Hasn't the Boar Lane interchange recently been refurbished?

[cnosni]

tyke bhoy wrote: Hasn't the Boar Lane interchange recently been refurbished? HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA,is that what they call it.More like day time creche for our public area alcohol consumers.

[raveydavey]

Interesting to note the comments about "good public transport links".Most concerts end between 10.30pm and 11pm - when we saw Kylie in Manchester during the summer it was gone 11 when we got out and about quarter past when we arrived at the bus station / tram interchange thingy in the centre.Now Manchester being a forward thinking place, with competition on the buses (not just Last Bus), the buses were still running an every 10 minute service and would continue to do so for at least another hour or so. This is midweek too, not a Saturday night. The buses were decently loaded too and not just with concert goers - proof that people will use public transport if it's reliable, cheap and conveinient.In Leeds on most routes that last bus has gone before 11pm and most services have dropped down to half-hourly at best by then (unless you want to go to Boddington Hall...). So any pretence at using public transport is going to mean someone keeping buses running to get people home afterwards, otherwise people can only use cars.

[cnosni]

raveydavey wrote: Interesting to note the comments about "good public transport links".Most concerts end between 10.30pm and 11pm - when we saw Kylie in Manchester during the summer it was gone 11 when we got out and about quarter past when we arrived at the bus station / tram interchange thingy in the centre.Now Manchester being a forward thinking place, with competition on the buses (not just Last Bus), the buses were still running an every 10 minute service and would continue to do so for at least another hour or so. This is midweek too, not a Saturday night. The buses were decently loaded too and not just with concert goers - proof that people will use public transport if it's reliable, cheap and conveinient.In Leeds on most routes that last bus has gone before 11pm and most services have dropped down to half-hourly at best by then (unless you want to go to Boddington Hall...). So any pretence at using public transport is going to mean someone keeping buses running to get people home afterwards, otherwise people can only use cars. You would think the money making bus operators will cotton onto the possibility of more revenue,id be quite sure they will want to run buses,especially to the train station for about £2 each!!!!!

[Leeds-lad]

I reckon a lot of Hotels in Leeds could offer W/End breaks with tickets to shows/concertsAs for people attempting to get into Leeds in their own transportforget it.To give themselves plenty of time to find Venue/Car parking they will want to arrive in the centre between 5&7 for an 8 O'clock concert God Help Em!

[Brandy]

Just a thought but dont you think this site would be better for the arena??Or even better our second arena??    

[cnosni]

Brandy wrote: Just a thought but dont you think this site would be better for the arena??Or even better our second arena??     Yes mate,but the council dont own the land,which is why it was discounted.theres a letter in the YEP tonight from one of the councillors about the site,Shannon Street is mentioned.

[raveydavey]

Leeds-lad wrote: I reckon a lot of Hotels in Leeds could offer W/End breaks with tickets to shows/concertsAs for people attempting to get into Leeds in their own transportforget it.To give themselves plenty of time to find Venue/Car parking they will want to arrive in the centre between 5&7 for an 8 O'clock concert God Help Em! Quite - Manchester and Sheffield both have a good number of industrial areas between the motorway and the venue, which offer parking at a reasonable £5/car. These take a lot of the pressure off parking at the venue, thus helping disperse the crowds immediately afterwards. They also have the benfit of people parking half a mile or so away and staggering traffic flow away from the venue, rather than all trying to get out onto the same local roads.The designated site in Leeds has none of these. Although there are industrial areas around Regent Street, etc, these are well off route for most people coming into town.Sovereign Street would have been the ideal choice (due to it's proximity to the station and routes in and out of the city), with Marsh Lane coming in a close second due to good road links, plenty of space and the possibility of re-instating the station platforms there for arena use.I do know somewhere you can park within walking distance (5 minutes or so) of Claypit Lane for a fiver that is fairly secure but far enough away to avoid the inevitable congestion and which offers the choice of several routes out of the city centre. But I'm not saying where it is, because then everyone will know...