Brizzle Arenal....where to mi babber ?

[whole diary]

[the void]

Does anyone have any idea what is currently being built on Arena Island? Looks like a bridge, which will presumably be moved into position once complete, but to where? And what for?

[Red Squirrel]

There is a plan to have a coach drop-off point on Albert Road; this is presumably the footbridge which allows people to get from there to the Arena new council estate without getting their feet wet...

[the void]

Amazing what Marvin can find to spend our money on. It's going to be a most accessible piece of wasteland...

[martyjon]

Amazing what Marvin can find to spend our money on. It's going to be a most accessible piece of wasteland...

BUT he cant afford to keep our public loos open, yes readers, all public loos in Bristol are locked shut to save council taxpayers money yet he does not ban the provision of lavish buffets at meetings in City Hall or cuts to Councillors Allowances for which many do B*GG*R all for.

[Phantom]

There is a plan to have a coach drop-off point on Albert Road; this is presumably the footbridge which allows people to get from there to the Arena new council estate without getting their feet wet...

It popped up a few weeks back, commuting South from P15 at BTM^▸ (Bristol Temple Meads (strictly, it should be BRI)) every night I am trying to work out what it is.
It has steps on the slanted side, but looking closer it looks like it isn't in it's final position yet and sections still need joining

All very random

[Red Squirrel]

So it's official: South Gloucestershire Mayor Marvin Trump has canned the Bristol Arena. No surprise, but still bitterly disappointing. Hey ho; move on to the next disappointment...

[Bmblbzzz]

The implication is that it will be built in Filton, but I reckon it's more likely not to be built at all. I'm actually not too fussed about that, I think it's more important to do something useful with the Arenal Island site, and the current plans don't seem to offer anything of that either.

[martyjon]

So it's official: South Gloucestershire Mayor Marvin Trump has canned the Bristol Arena. No surprise, but still bitterly disappointing. Hey ho; move on to the next disappointment...

He ain't SG mayor, I thought he was Bristols.

[Red Squirrel]

So it's official: South Gloucestershire Mayor Marvin Trump has canned the Bristol Arena. No surprise, but still bitterly disappointing. Hey ho; move on to the next disappointment...

He ain't SG mayor, I thought he was Bristols.

So did I.

[broadgage]

I cant say that I am surprised by this decision.
As noted elsewhere on these forums, I met a political figure who was strongly opposed to siting the Arena near the railway station.

His main argument was the lack of car parking, any suggestion that customers should use trains to attend the arena was, he felt "daft"
He felt that railway transport was unsuitable for large numbers for the following reasons.

1) Large events are planned a year or more in advance, but no one knows that far ahead if the trains will be running or not.
2) The railway can not cope with rush hours or bank holidays, so what chance of them coping with large events at the new arena.
3) How are people to get home from late evening events ?

It must be said that "the railway" in general, and GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) in particular have done very poorly over the last couple of years.

I could foresee a considerable risk of reputational damage and financial loss to the operators of the Arena if some high profile event co-incided  with engineering work, or an RMT^▸ (National Union of Rail, Maritime & Transport Workers) strike, or moderately adverse weather during roads and airlines operated as normal.

Elsewhere on these forums, the closure of the Brighton mainline for engineering work and replacement by a very inadequate bus service was discussed.
Respected members suggested that the inconvenienced airport passengers "should have checked before travel", ignoring the fact that holiday tickets are often booked far in advance, long before railway engineering works are known about.

So who wants an arena at which events are planned 12 months in advance, and tickets sold 3 months in advance, and then trains replaced by buses 4 weeks in advance ?

[Red Squirrel]

So who wants an arena at which events are planned 12 months in advance, and tickets sold 3 months in advance, and then trains replaced by buses 4 weeks in advance ?

The proposed developer and operator. 

Not much point in rehearsing the arguments now, except to say that the site was not dependent on rail. But the die is cast and in all probability we will not get an arena in my lifetime. For myself I don't really care, but it is a sad loss for Bristol.

_{Edit: Typo}

[broadgage]

I thought that the proposed arena site WAS largely dependant on rail ?
Not entirely dependant of course, some customers would walk or cycle or use local buses, but with no significant parking at or near the venue, it seems clear that the intention was for most customers to use the train.

[JayMac]

Many customers of the Arena would come from the Greater Bristol area. I'd estimate that barely one tenth of them would be close to a suburban station to get to Temple Meads.

A large entertainment venue needs to cater to all inflows of punters. Train, bus, foot, private vehicle.

[Western Pathfinder]

Does anyone have any idea what is currently being built on Arena Island? Looks like a bridge, which will presumably be moved into position once complete, but to where? And what for?

I'm told that it is a new Pedestrian access footbridge, so at least one new footbridge is being installed in the Bristol area !.

[Red Squirrel]

Many customers of the Arena would come from the Greater Bristol area. I'd estimate that barely one tenth of them would be close to a suburban station to get to Temple Meads.

A large entertainment venue needs to cater to all inflows of punters. Train, bus, foot, private vehicle.

If I understand how arenas work, I imagine that the punters would be coming from Plymouth, Taunton (natch), Swindon, Worcester and Swansea as well as Greater Bristol Thornbury. If, and it's a big if, South Glos Mayor Marvin Trump's mooted YTL Brabazon Arena ever gets built, and if, and it's a big if, the Henbury Stub is reopened, then there is potential that after due process (say in 30-40 years) and finding the necessary $30BN to build a 200ft single platform (yes I do mean foots and US dollars; this is post-Brexit) then some of these punters may still come by train. Ain't no-one gonna be walking though, or staying in hotels in Bristol, or spending their hard-earned doing the Bristol tourist trail; they'll whizz in, buy some popcorn, watch Michael McIntyre on the big screen, and scoot off home. For all the good it'll do Bristol, they may as well build it in Newport.