In a few days, Everton FC will enter their most significant year in a generation. With the sense of relief following the finalisation of the protracted takeover of the Blues by The Friedkin Group, all eyes turn towards the city’s waterfront and the club’s new home.
In a few short months, the Toffees will bid farewell to the Grand Old Lady of Goodison Park after 133 years for their new home on the banks of the Royal Blue Mersey. While the club make preparations to make the site their own, how is the city around it getting set for some of its oldest tenants to move home?
One of the key issues for any football ground is vehicle traffic and Bramley-Moore is no exception. Things have changed in the more than a century since Goodison was built and even more so in more recent years, with a push towards net zero and getting people out of personal cars into public transport.
Ahead of the first game in August, Liverpool Council is to adopt an experimental traffic regulation order (ETRO) to best manage car parking around the stadium and surrounding areas. Similar to the existing measures around Goodison and neighbouring Anfield, the parking zone will encompass the surrounding Ten Streets district and into the city centre.
This could include the creation of a new resident parking area, taxi ranks and bus stands near to the 52,888 seater ground. The wider aim of the parking zone is to reduce congestion and improve air quality, safety and journey times to and from the stadium.
The proposals have also been designed to complement the planned modernisation of parking across the city centre. New hours of operation will be adopted for existing parking zones in the Great Homer Street, Ten Streets and Love Lane area, with new industrial zones at the north and south ends of Boundary Street.
The ETRO will remain in place for 18 months and during that period a decision will be made to make the scheme permanent, amend it, or remove it altogether. Cllr Liam Robinson, leader of Liverpool Council, said: “Bramley Moore is one of the most exciting development projects in the country and arguably in Europe, when you think about new stadium developments happening around the world I can’t think of many that are as iconic or impactful in the construction that’s almost complete.
“It’s absolutely vital that we not only build a brilliant stadium but that it works in its neighbourhood and hinterland.” Cllr Jane Corbett, former deputy mayor and Everton West ward member, did however offer words of caution.
She said: “My concern is that the whole section of the ward is not linked in to the scheme or any other. My concern is therefore that the ETRO is not rolling far enough.”
Cllr Corbett, whose husband is Everton FC’s official chaplain, said there could not be “even more pressure being put on residents before it even gets better.”
Cllr Dan Barrington, Liverpool Council cabinet member for transport and connectivity, said: “Everton Stadium is going to be transformational, especially for the surrounding Ten Streets district and the wider Kirkdale community. As well as the economic benefit, the vast volume of people the stadium will attract – and how they arrive and depart – needs to be carefully managed.
“The North Docks area has never had to cope with such large numbers of people in such concentrated periods, but fortunately the city has the experience and knowledge thanks to Goodison Park and Anfield. By creating this new match day parking zone, we’ll be looking to adopt and incorporate those controls which so effectively move tens of thousands every week.
“Bramley-Moore Dock is also a unique location given its very close proximity to the city centre and the fact the surrounding transport infrastructure is well developed. There’s more to be done but all the partners are talking to make those improvements.
“We’ll also be looking to encourage as many active travel options as possible for those attending the games or other events there, which is a win-win for everyone in terms of managing congestion and air quality and promoting healthy habits.
“There are lots of residents and businesses, as well as Everton fans, who will be affected by these proposals and thanks to their feedback we’ve been able to formulate a plan which aims to accommodate their needs.”
A major change to the closest station to the new ground has also been given the go-ahead as the area prepares for an influx of thousands of fans. Liverpool Council signed off on a planning application for the creation of a fan management zone at Sandhills.
Special arrangements are being made to accommodate the number of people expecting to use the narrow access to the station and its single island platform. According to documents submitted to the local authority by Merseytravel, the organisation has developed plans with Everton, the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, British Transport Police, Liverpool Council and Merseyrail to deal with the increased footfall.
The Toffees’ new stadium will lead to an increase of around 13,000 people on Goodison Park’s existing capacity. An operational management statement said: “The results of this work indicate that although the platforms at Sandhills and the trains serving the station could accommodate and process the volume of predicted additional passengers expected to use the services in a reasonable time period, the access to the platforms is constrained, and this places a limitation on the number of passengers that can access/egress the platform at times of likely high demand.”
The proposed solution is to develop a new pedestrian waiting area dedicated and specifically designed to accommodate and safely manage passengers during periods of peak demand. The zone will be located on land owned by Merseytravel adjacent to the station and used at the end of football matches and other major events until they can be dispatched safely onto train services.
The requirement for this facility was specified in the Section 106 Agreement of an existing, approved planning application for the new stadium. During the rest of the year, the zone would revert back to its current use, which is for storage of rail-related equipment or activity related to the operation of rail replacement bus services
Intending passengers will enter the zone from Sandhills Lane, and then be directed towards the queuing lane for their destination. Passengers with reduced mobility will be diverted from the main queue by staff and held in a separate area so they can be given priority to access the station platform via the existing accessible ramps.
