We want to see Pearl Jam...not traffic jam
Festival-goers urged to take coach or train to Bramham Park
MUSIC fans heading to this year's Leeds Festival were today urged: "Leave the car at home."
Organisers of the annual rock extravaganza are desperate to avoid a repeat of the traffic congestion problems that have dogged the event since it moved to Bramham Park, near Wetherby, in 2003.
Drivers on key routes like the A64 York Road have faced lengthy delays each summer, with the worst hold-ups often coming as people begin arriving at the country estate's campsites the day before the festival proper starts.
At one stage in 2004 a 20-mile stretch of the M1 between Wakefield and Wetherby was reduced to crawling pace because of what the AA called "sheer weight of traffic".
And, with those headaches in mind, festival promoter Mean Fiddler is asking the 70,000 or so fans attending this year's bash – on August 25, 26 and 27 – to consider making the journey by coach or train.
National Express (08705 808080 or
http://www.gobycoach.com) and See Coaches (0870 060 3775 or
http://www.seetickets.com) are both running services direct to Bramham Park.
Shuttle buses will also be ferrying fans to the site from Leeds City Station and Leeds Bus Station.
Thousands of people are still expected to travel by car, however, and Mean Fiddler says it has been working closely with West Yorkshire Police, the Highways Agency and Leeds City Council to minimise delays.
Under their traffic plan, fans travelling from the south on the M1 will be directed onto the A63 and the A6120 outer ring road and then eastbound onto the A64.
Cars coming in on the A1, meanwhile, will be directed onto the westbound A659, then onto the A58 southbound, the A6120 and the A64.
Regular users of the A64 are being "strongly advised" to consider using alternative routes before, during and after the festival.
Motorists are also being told to allow extra time for journeys on the M1, A6120, A63, A58 southbound and A64.
Top bands playing Bramham Park this year include Pearl Jam, Franz Ferdinand, Arctic Monkeys and Leeds's own Kaiser Chiefs.
paul.robinsons@ypn.co.uk
01 August 2006