The Everton FAB and Fans' Forum hope to influence discussions around how to improve access to the stadium on a matchday
Everton fans are enjoying life at their new home so far
Everton fans are enjoying life at their new home so far(Image: Andrew Teebay Liverpool Echo)
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Two influential groups of Everton supporters have called for a meeting with transport bosses about “concerns” surrounding matchday traffic and travel to the club's new ground. The Everton Fan Advisory Board and Everton Fans’ Forum, both representative bodies of the Blues fanbase, want to discuss a host of issues and how they could be resolved with the help of the authorities.
The formal request comes three months into the first season at the club’s new Hill Dickinson Stadium. Road closures, parking restrictions and traffic congestion remain topics of frustration as supporters and north Liverpool attempt to adapt to the huge crowds now travelling to and from the city waterfront on matchdays.
Liverpool Council is set to consider a new waterfront travel plan next week.
The two Everton fan groups, along with the UK Supporters’ Club Committee, have requested a meeting with Liverpool Council, Merseytravel and Merseyside Police to “discuss transport and access around the new stadium”.
In particular, they said they wished to focus on lighting, pedestrian safety and access.
In a statement shared online by the FAB, the groups said they recognised ongoing efforts to deal with issues that have come up so far and wished to review how short-term measures were working, look at the council’s long-term strategy for “sustainable transport and access” to the area and to discuss the role they could play in shaping any plans.
The statement said the council had acknowledged the request and work was ongoing to set up a discussion, with the groups stating: “We’re committed to working constructively to ensure the stadium and its surroundings serve supporters, residents and the wider city.”
The Blues have enjoyed a positive start to life at Hill Dickinson Stadium, losing just one of their opening seven league and cup matches since leaving historic Goodison Park.
The transition of the club from Walton to Bramley-Moore Dock has widely been viewed as a success and the stadium hosted its first major non-football sporting event at the start of the month as a sold-out crowd watched a Rugby League international between England and Australia.
Wider issues around the stadium, including traffic congestion and rail capacity as more than 52,000 people head to the ground on a matchday, have long been a subject of debate, however.
The request comes as the council prepares to consider plans for a new waterfront strategy that could impact matchday travel for Everton supporters. The proposals intend to overhaul the city's waterfront and make it more pedestrian friendly.
At the centre of the designs is a new Merseyfront Walkway, described as a continuous "green ribbon" that would connect the waterfront from Otterspool in the south to the Hill Dickinson Stadium in the north. The council says this would act as a "social, ecological, and active-travel backbone for the city".
Also part of the proposals is a plan to "sink" the junction between Leeds Street and Great Howard Street below ground to allow for a plaza and transit hub at surface level.
The intersection is one of the busiest in Liverpool and marks a key point as traffic from the east and south of the city reaches the area surrounding Everton's stadium.
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