Multi-functional events centre (Budget 2014)

Well it's a shame that O'Callaghan were unable to place the final tender application.

From a logistics stand point I had been trying to weigh up both sites:


Parking:

Crawford:

- Wandsford Quay Multi-Storey: - Vital spot, although queuing from the St. Als direction would block access to Washington Street for people wanting to turn left, but with only one lane now by the Cathedral, it may cause gridlock further back along French Quay/Proby's Quay.

- Old Sir Henry's Site: - decent short term drop off site which is empty by evening, but too small considering the size of the venue.

- Plus it's almost a guarantee that people will try and park as close as possible to the venue and will end up abandoning their cars in the new cycle lanes, no matter how good people's intentions appear to be at this stage.


Alberts Quay:

- City Hall: - Really good spot, queuing not really a problem to traffic with the extra lanes beside it

- Monahan Road: - The last large area of free parking left in the city; empty by 6pm.

- Privately owned site on Centre Park Road: - Odd opening hours, but they'd hardly miss out on an opportunity like nearby large concerts.

- Kennedy Quay: - Vast empty area that could be used on event nights which has been used very well last year during Rebel Week without any disruption to

- Victoria Road (before the roundabout) - has enough space for larger coaches and taxis to park without causing any disruption on cars using the road.


Clearing the Crowds:

My main concern now that I've put a bit of thought into it is can the Crawford site handle 8,000 people exiting an event without the nearby streets having to be closed off to all traffic.

The Albert Quay area has been host to both the Cannonball motoring event and the Rebel Week celebrations over the past few years where the only disruption to traffic was about 30 mins when the Cannonball cars were being escorted into the old bonded warehouse along with the crowds who followed.

And as we've seen with the Marquee gigs, taxis will try to get as close as possible after, plus you may have a number of private coaches waiting for people along with people driving in to collect friends and family.


Given it's proximity to the bus station and visibility from the proposed new train station entrance, the Albert Quay site would have cleared a larger number of people off the streets quicker as they won't have to walk through the city centre to get back onto public transport.

Assuming events will end at 11pm, The South Main street and Washington Street areas are already getting busy by that time on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays with the number of nightclubs in the area. Add an extra 8,000 people into the mix and it's going to get very interesting.