Islington Council's East Area committee (27 June 2006) gave the go ahead for Arsenal's experimental traffic scheme.
Councillor Meral Ece, East Area Committe Chair said: "We listened carefully to what residents had to say and we reviewed the all reponses we received. It's important that everyone can move around the area safely while Arsenal are playing at home. On the advice of the police we gave the experimental order the go ahead.
"We really need to see the scheme in practice before before we can make any further recommendations. We've put a detailed monitoring process in place that will see the committee review the scheme after the first five home games. Depending on the outcome we may be able to slightly alter the plans that could further reduce the inconvenience to residents."
The measures that the council's East Area Committee have agreed are the minimum the police consider necessary to maintain public safety on match days.
The experimental traffic order will see restrictions to 14 roads around the Emirates Stadium from two hours before kick off to one hour after the final whistle. details of these roads can be found at www.ilsington.gov.uk
The council consulted on the plans in June. 5,330 consultation packs were distributed to homes and businesses in the area. 76 people attended the three drop-in sessions. In total, 214 responses were received . This represents a 4% response rate.
The first game to which the scheme will apply is on Thursday 22 July 2006.
The scheme will see the introduction of a new match day resident / business access permit. The first of its kind to be introduced for a football stadium in the UK. The new access permit will at certain times prioritise entry for residents that live within restricted area. The access permits will be automatically issued to those residents / business that already hold a valid Controlled Parking Zone Permit (CPZ). This is a much more user friendly system for local residents compared to the traffic restrictions that were in operation around the old Highbury Stadium.
The new access permit system will work along side the match day Controlled Parking Zone (CPZ) that were completed ahead of schedule in Novermber 2005. The scheme aims to stop spectators travelling to the ground by car and encourage them to use public transport. The match day parking controls will only operate on days when Arsenal FC is playing at home or are holding a special event. Advance warning of the next home match will be displayed on the CPZ entry signs on the boundary of the match day scheme. Arsenal have set up email service to notify supporters as soon as possible. To join just email join-fixtures@list.arsenal.co.uk. Information will also be avialable at www.arsenal.com and www.islington.gov.uk
All parking provisions and facilities currently available during the usual CPZ times, including pay and display parking and the use of visitor vouchers, will be available during the match day scheme times.
ENDS
Page Last Updated: 29 July 2008