Parking ban fear for fans
THERE are fears a parking no-go at Ibrox will penalise fans, businesses and the club.
The plans – to ban parking and waiting on match days and introduce residents permits – aim to relieve congestion but a Rangers pub has warned public transport won’t cope.
A PARKING ‘ no-go’ zone around Ibrox Stadium will penalise f ans, l ocal businesses and the club itself, a Rangers supporters pub has warned.
Council proposals will ban parking and waiting on 177 streets on match days with a permit zone introduced for residents and registered visitors.
The plans are intended to relieve traffic congestion which impacts on local residents on game days and keep routes clear for emergency services.
However, the management of the Louden Tavern say it will have a negative impact on the thousands of fans who travel to matches by car will simply move the parking problems further afield.
The pub say the existing public transport network is inadequate to cope with a significant increase in match day passenger traffic.
Fans shareholder group Club 1872 have described the proposals, which could see fines issued to supporters, as “poorly thought out”.
A spokesperson for the Louden Tavern said: “Rangers Football Club is a significant economic driver in the local community and brings untold millions to the Glasgow economy.
“We believe that implementing this proposal is extremely unwise as there is not enough public transport to cope with demands resulting from match days at Ibrox.
“We do not believe it is appropriate to push through a plan without ensuring that appropriate steps are in place to ensure that the tens of thousands of Rangers supporters who travel by car are not prevented from attending the local area.
“We believe guarantees and additional capacity is required for the local subway stations and there is a requirement for a rail station before this could even be considered being implemented.”
The new laws are due to come into force in August at the start of the 2018/2019 football season and will apply three hours before games and end one hour after it finishes.
Homeowners inside the zone will be able to apply for a free permit for every vehicle they own.
They will also be able to apply for passes for registered visitors at a one-off cost of £1.
A council spokesman said: “We are consulting on these proposals and local residents, businesses and supporters all have the opportunity to make their views known.”