Will the travel problems be communicated to the senior organisers

[glastofun]

I've heard some people talk of car accidents on arrival to the site on Wednesday, but don't car accidents happen every year given the volume of traffic? My arrival jouorney was increased by 6 hours and my leaving journey was increased by 4 hours.

This really does make me think twice about next year. Surely it must affect many people's enjoyment and memory of the festival?

Does anyone know if the people that should listen to these problems are aware of them?

[BinThereDrummedThat]

Some idiots had scheduled roadworks as well. That really wasnt thought through was it.

I think the sheer number of people arriving on the Wednesday caught organisers out...it was the busiest Wednesday every apparently. That, the roadworks and a couple of big accidents is all it takes.

[LRW]

Some idiots had scheduled roadworks as well. That really wasnt thought through was it.

I think the sheer number of people arriving on the Wednesday caught organisers out...it was the busiest Wednesday every apparently. That, the roadworks and a couple of big accidents is all it takes.

[precious_lillywhite]

I don't know what else people expect organisers to actually do about the volume of traffic?

You've got a huge amount of people arriving along narrow country lanes, ofcourse there's going to be traffic problems!!

[posthuman]

Mebbe try train or coach next year? The festival had dedicated bus / coach routes that were traffic-free and an absolute breeze!

[Chocscoffer]

I don't know what else people expect organisers to actually do about the volume of traffic?

You've got a huge amount of people arriving along narrow country lanes, ofcourse there's going to be traffic problems!!

[TalkShow Bob]

If you dont like the traffic get the train, simple as. Traffic is a huge problem at festivals, always has been and unless you make drastic changes which people also hate always will be. The only real option is to move all parking miles off site and have shuttle services to site but people really dont like that ether.

Also it wasn't just a few more people that turned up over 80% of people were on-site by Wednesday evening.

[glastofun]

Mebbe try train or coach next year? The festival had dedicated bus / coach routes that were traffic-free and an absolute breeze!

[J1mbo]

I'm used to the normally shocking traffic conditions, but last year was bizarrely easy - our exit out from the festival car parks was designed to take each field down a different set of lanes back to the main roads. We didn't hit ANY traffic till we got to Bristol.

Perhaps the buses are now using some of these routes?

Certainly I was massively unimpressed with the move of pretty much ALL the car parks to the east side of the festival. It made for some hideously long walks up and down hills and seemed to worsen the congestion problems.

[redmosquito]

Mebbe try train or coach next year? The festival had dedicated bus / coach routes that were traffic-free and an absolute breeze!

[Vectrex]

Mebbe try train or coach next year? The festival had dedicated bus / coach routes that were traffic-free and an absolute breeze!

[glastofun]

If you dont like the traffic get the train, simple as. Traffic is a huge problem at festivals, always has been and unless you make drastic changes which people also hate always will be. The only real option is to move all parking miles off site and have shuttle services to site but people really dont like that ether.

Also it wasn't just a few more people that turned up over 80% of people were on-site by Wednesday evening.

[markeee]

Mebbe try train or coach next year? The festival had dedicated bus / coach routes that were traffic-free and an absolute breeze!

[ogriff]

Gettting the coach was no easier - and had no separate route, from London at least.

got to Victoria at 9.30 Wednesday.

Got to the site at 12.30. AM. Thursday.

Was sat in a queue from the M5 south for 13 hours. Walked alongside the coach mostly, stopping off at open off licenses along the way = thankfully our coach driver didn't give a shit, but some of the national express guys were refusing anyone getting off, getting bags or allowing booze on. I'd've gone mental...

[Rufus Gwertigan]

I am no expert on Glastonbury traffic, but I know about other festivals. Did you know that the main culprits for traffic dealys are the punters themselves when they get to the gates. "I want to park over there with my mates blah blah blah blah." Often a few minutes over one issue will cause a half hour delay further down the line, and then keep on adding the little chats.

Thats not a main reason for delays but it doesn't help

edit: on the way out some guy getting out to have a piss had us waiting 5 minutes, and then imagine that 5 miles back in the car park.

Edited July 1, 2009 by Rufus Gwertigan

[paulo999]

I have a suspicion that sat navs are aggravating things.

Before they were common, almost everyone was using the official approach routes, which can take far more vehicles but aren't as direct.

I'd expect there were loads ploughing through Bristol and really messing that route up.

[Jutt69]

Mebbe try train or coach next year? The festival had dedicated bus / coach routes that were traffic-free and an absolute breeze!

[crimsonking]

Getting 170,000 people to a festival using B roads and country lanes is never going to be easy and to be honest something we have to put up with, TBH I've encoutered worse problems leaving Milton Keynes Bowl and Knebworth. One solution if you want to avoid traffic is to arrive super-early on Wednesday and leave very late on Monday, and try and get to the West car parks 25-20 as they are nearest the entry/exit.

[paulo80]

Agreed! Well about the coach anyway, I hear Castle Cary was a nightmare as usual!

As soon as our coach from Cambridge hit the traffic near the site a police escort drove us on the other side of the road straight passed all the waiting cars.

Whether this was planned or not I don't know but if it was what a great idea! I think it would encourage more people to arrive by coach if they know they can bypass most of the traffic.

[eFestivals]

I've heard some people talk of car accidents on arrival to the site on Wednesday, but don't car accidents happen every year given the volume of traffic? My arrival jouorney was increased by 6 hours and my leaving journey was increased by 4 hours.

This really does make me think twice about next year. Surely it must affect many people's enjoyment and memory of the festival?

Does anyone know if the people that should listen to these problems are aware of them?

You can be sure that the Festival will be VERY aware of the traffic problems getting in. I expect that their ears will be bent backwards by the locals and the council for many months about the chaos caused by advertising the festival for the first time advertising the festival as a wednesday-sunday event, causing so many to all turn up on the wednesday. I'm pretty sure that measures of some kind will be introduced to ensure the same doesn't happen next year.

As for leaving, there's naff all they can do. The roads nearby will only carry away so many cars per hour, and so if everyone is trying to leave at the same time then there cannot be anything but queues.

The way to avoid the queues is to avoid the queues by not joining the queue. I don't bother to pack-up my tent until after 5pm on the Monday, and then get to drive straight out with no queuing. Why spend hours in the car when you don't have to?

[glastofun]

Getting 170,000 people to a festival using B roads and country lanes is never going to be easy and to be honest something we have to put up with, TBH I've encoutered worse problems leaving Milton Keynes Bowl and Knebworth. One solution if you want to avoid traffic is to arrive super-early on Wednesday and leave very late on Monday, and try and get to the West car parks 25-20 as they are nearest the entry/exit.

[shangri-la_steward]

there were roadworks on the a303 just before chickdale. They had put in temporary traffic lights and it took us about 30 mins to get through. who's bloody great thinking was this???? luckily we didnt pass through there until about 10pm on the wednesday. Cant imagine how bad it would have been during the day though

Edited July 1, 2009 by shangri-la_steward

[TalkShow Bob]

My experiences are directly as a result of getting a combination of trains/shuttle buses.

[septemberwillow]

Next year I've decided we're going by helicopter, the only way I can think of getting onto site and avoiding the traffic.

[Peetle]

I didn't go this year but I've been 6 times and always on the train. I've always got to Castle Cary around 11:30am (mostly Thursdays but one Wednesday, 2005 I think) and never had to wait more than a few minutes for a bus - there's usually been buses waiting for the trains. Buses have always breezed straight through to the site too.

Going back I leave the site around 6am on Monday and usually haven't had too much trouble getting a bus, followed by an hour or so wait for a specially laid on train.

I've heard talk of 60k Tuesday tickets and 60k Wednesday tickets for next year - all very well but what do they do with folk who arrive on Tuesday with a Thursday ticket ?

Anyone go before 2000 and remember the bus station being about 30 minutes walk from the entrance to the site - steeply up hill on the way back too ?