The owner of a historic bridge en route to Everton’s new stadium has moved to ease concerns after fans raised issues about capacity during their walk to the second test event last weekend.
Around 25,000 fans were in attendance at Bramley-Moore Dock last Sunday as the Toffees held the second of three fixtures to make their new 52,888 capacity home ready for the new season.
The fixture was held at half capacity, with an evacuation taking place just after an hour’s play to allow Everton to secure the relevant safety licences.
While much was made of the area’s rail capacity on the day, with a particular focus on Sandhills station, some supporters took to social media to express issues about getting over the bascule bridge on Regent Road.
To manage the flow of supporters, a stop-go system was in place around the bridge, prompting some to question if it could handle the weight of foot traffic.
In a bid to quell any fears, Peel Waters, which owns the bridge has answered the LDRS’ questions on its ability to handle thousands of users on matchdays.
Built in 1932, the Grade II listed structure, which lies within the city’s World Heritage Site, is one of just a handful in England and after a revamp in 2012 gained fame for featuring in major Hollywood blockbusters such as Captain America and Sherlock Holmes. Last year, it gained a whole new legion of fans as it starred in Taylor Swift’s “I Can See You (Taylor’s Version)” music video.
It was the subject of a £600,000 restoration project funded by Liverpool Council, opening up again in May 2013, after Peel and the local authority sought to improve the existing bridge rather than replace it.
Regent Road was closed for around five years as a result, forcing drivers travelling between the city centre and Seaforth to go along Great Howard Street.
Last Sunday, fans took to social media after they were stopped on their way to the ground as part of a flow system. Officials were seen near the bridge with stop and go paddles letting supporters through.
One fan wrote, “Another problem @Merseytravel and @MetroMayorSteve need to look at is the weight capacity of the Bascule Bridge on Regent Road. Many fans like us wanted to walk to town to avoid Sandhills and were met with the stop go system. Today was only 60% capacity in decent weather.”
Another said, “the bottleneck @ regent road bridge after the evacuation was comical with a marshal sat in an umpire chair instructing ‘stop’ n ‘go’ this will be farcical with 53k …please sort it.”
Asked by the LDRS if they had any concerns regarding weight capacity, Peel Waters said, “Peel Waters have had a HGV load assessment of the highway section of the bridge which confirms that it complies with the normal highways HGV tonnage.”
A spokesperson for the company added how Peel Waters are part of the transport working group, chaired by Everton FC, which includes local authority stakeholders to resolve any issues around the stadium.
When asked if any concerns had been raised directly with Peel Waters about the bridge’s effectiveness to deal with fans, the spokesperson replied, “No.”
Image credit: David Humphreys
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