Fans face Anfield and Goodison parking ban

Aug 12 2007 by David Bartlett, Liverpool Daily Post

THE biggest no-parking zone in Liverpool is to be introduced around Goodison Park and Anfield over the next year.

As Everton and Liverpool FC get their Premiership seasons under way today, the city council has unveiled details of a major new clampdown on cars parking in residential streets.

The scheme involves doubling the size of the area covered by match-day residents’ only parking zones to take in an additional 12,500 homes. Last night, the extension was welcomed by local councillors but they warned it needed to be properly enforced to work.

Everton FC spokesman Ian Ross said football fans of both clubs were a hardy bunch and would not be put off going to matches, but it would just be another inconvenience.

The scheme was part of the transport package put together as part of the original planning permission for the new Anfield Stadium.

Although a fresh application was lodged at the end of last month, council officials are forging ahead with the parking scheme so they are in place well in advance of the expanded 60,000-capacity stadium’s proposed opening date in 2010.

Caption: The council's map above shows the areas to be included in the widened parking ban. LFC is hatched in red, EFC in blue

Residents will be written to ahead of the roll-out in their area and will be able to apply for parking permits, one per registered vehicle to each address.

Anfield ward councillor Jimmy Kendrick said people would also be able to apply for visitors’ passes.

Dominic Boyle, Liverpool’s traffic and safety services manager, said: “This is building on the existing area. In terms of the number of properties involved, it is a doubling.

“The thinking behind it is to make sure that when the new stadium is up and running that no more cars come to the area than at the moment.”

He said the previous zones had been introduced in a piece-meal approach over the past 10 years.

It will affect an additional 12,500 properties, and the scheme will be introduced in a phased programme from next month and will be complete by October, 2008.

Mr Boyle said that on the whole it was a case of installing signs in streets, but that in some cases roads would be made one-way to allow for more parking.

“One-way roads will have traffic calming [speed humps] introduced to stop traffic travelling faster.” The current restricted zone surrounds Stanley Park, Goodison Park and Anfield.

It is bounded by Breckfield Road, Walton Breck Road, Everton Valley, Fountains Road, Melrose Road, Breeze Hill, and Walton Road.

The new zones are bounded by Carisbrooke Road, Taylor’s Lane, Haggerston Road, Walton Hall Avenue, Queen’s Drive, Townsend Lane, Dorset Road, West Derby Road, Breckfield South, Breck Road, and Heyworth Street, where it meets the existing scheme.

Anfield ward councillor Jimmy Kendrick said he understood that more wardens would be brought in to enforce the scheme but he called for more towing away by police when parked cars caused obstruction to residents.

davidbartlett