Everton fans are concerned about travel plans outside the new stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock after 25,000 supporters attended the second test event. As part of the controlled evacuation procedure, the supporters were asked to leave the premises after 65 minutes as Everton U21s took on Bolton Wanderers B on Sunday.
While the evacuation procedure the club needed to test to obtain the required licenses and safety certifications was a success, fans expressed discontent regarding the travel plans. A massive flock of people was held up at the Bascule Bridge on Regent Road and they had to be let through gradually because the bridge couldn’t handle the weight of the crowd.
“The infrastructure at BMD is poor, even the soccerbus today didn't calculate for the half marathon and took 40 minutes from Commutation Row to BMD, only had to go along Vauxhall Rd, would have taken 15 minutes. The weighbridge stop/go was embarrassing and not required, there was a full bridge each time they let people pass onto it anyway, pointless,” wrote Jeff Armstrong on the Toffeeweb forum.
“The much-vaunted 'train every 15 minutes' didn't seem to materialise at Moorfields. We were there about 35 minutes then a train arrived that hardly anybody could get on,” said Paul Washington while Danny O’Neil added, “No Taxi ranks near the stadium and I didn't see any black cabs.”
With only 25,000 people facing such chaos at the second test event, the question of how the stadium management committee is going to deal with 52,888 supporters come next season is starting to become a pressing issue.
"Everton's stadium looks great but this is worrying for fans. Disaster waiting to happen, this is at half capacity with no away fans either. Who approved the planning permission for it without ensuring there was going to be suitable infrastructure around the area. Madness," wrote another fan on X (formerly Twitter).
They also faced a similar problem last month when 10,000 fans were allowed to enter the stadium for the first test event.
Parking restrictions around new stadium temporarily suspended
Meanwhile, a controversial series of parking restrictions have been suspended after multiple complaints from business owners. An Experimental Traffic Regulation Order (ETRO) had been imposed within a half-hour walking radius around the stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock - including heavy restrictions for on-street parking.
Business owners were flabbergasted to find out that the restrictions would apply to the area all year round and not just on matchdays. This led to a wave of complaints with many businesses claiming that they could even go under due to losses from the parking restrictions.
As a result, the Liverpool City Council corrected course and on Monday, they issued a statement that the restrictions were being paused until August in the areas where businesses would be most affected by the restrictions.
The temporary postponement would take effect along the city's waterfront from its northern end by Canada Dock down to the Leeds Street area of the city centre boundary, and eastwards across to the Pumpfields district. There will still be restrictions, but only in residential districts where people have been told to apply for up to two free parking permits per household.
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