Arsenal FC and Ajax were not the only teams 'playing' at the new Emirates Stadium last Saturday (22/7/06).
Islington Council's transport planning, parking enforcement, environmental protection and Waste Management Services teams were out in force for the first match at the stadium, Dennis Bergkamp's testimonial. Although not a league match, it attracted a crowd of 54,000, only 6,000 short of what will be its full capacity.
"A lot of time and effort has been put in by all concerned to make these match-days go off without a hitch, but this was the first real test for the police, the transport network, the club and the council", said Councillor Terry Stacy, Islington Council Deputy Leader.
"Public safety was the No 1 concern, but we also wanted to ensure the disruption to local residents was kept to a minimum.
In all, the council had a team of over 70 monitoring and managing everything from car parking, coach parking, traffic flows pedestrian movements, street vending, and street cleaning. The police, Transport for London and over-ground trains, underground and bus services were also closely monitoring their operations on the day.
There were no major incidents and a small number of complaints from local residents are now being followed up.
Two other trials that took place in July were attended by 1,500 and 10,000 and also passed off without any serious problem or incident.
"We had a full squad out on the day, dealing with issues as they arose and ensuring we learn lessons from the experience that can be put into practice when the season starts in August", added Councillor Stacy.
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Page Last Updated: 29 July 2008