A combination of shoppers and football fans led to gridlock around the Trafford Centre on Monday, it has been claimed.. There were chaotic scenes last night with some drivers reported being stuck in the centre’s car parks, and on nearby roads, for several hours.
Witnesses said children were left in tears and that there were fights amongst motorists who became angry and frustrated as they were left stranded in their vehicles.
One couple who came to see a film at the cinema said they were unable to even leave their parking space for five hours as cars piled up and scuffles broke out around them in what they said was a ‘Christmas nightmare.’
Trafford Centre bosses have now attributed the carnage to a ‘perfect storm’ of shoppers and football fans. Monday was said to have been ‘very busy’ at the mall.
However, bosses say the number of visitors was not any higher than on many of the other busy days across the festive period, where there had been no similar issues.
Many drivers were left stuck in the car parks for several hours
(Image: Submitted)
Instead, they believe ‘external factors’ – most notably Manchester United being at home- meant the roads around the centre became clogged leaving shoppers unable to get off the car parks, causing queues which backed up onto the site.
United took on Newcastle in a sell game, kick-off 8pm, and the M60 and roads in and around Trafford were heaving with fans making their way to Old Trafford, the Trafford Centre said.
The nearby Trafford Retail Park, nearby hotels and leisure hotels such as the Chill Factore were also said to be busy in the period between Christmas and New Year when families have a lot of downtime.
Bosses said there were spaces on the car parks throughout but that the issue was motorists being able to get in and out of the site. All available Trafford Centre staff, including managers and staff based in their offices, were sent out onto the car parks to try and help people and direct traffic.
Trafford Centre bosses say a ‘perfect storm’ of shoppers and football fans meant surrounding roads were gridlocked
(Image: Submitted)
Whilst chiefs contacted the police and those in charge of the highways in a bid to try manage the situation and relieve some of the issues. The timing of traffic lights is said to have been tweaked at certain pinch points.
Business administrator Cody Fisher had gone to see Wicked with his boyfriend, healthcare worker Lewis Moran. After arriving at about 12 it took the pair around an hour to find a parking spot, but it was when they emerged from seeing their film at about 3 o’ clock that they found themselves stuck in their parking space.
“We went to the car and everyone was on the road, and the engines were turned off. We thought that’s a bit weird” Cody said. “”Then 20 minutes went by, and another 20 minutes went by. When we got to about half six seven, that’s when people starting getting really annoyed. We edged out of the space, about 30cm. I’ve got voice messages of people screaming. There’s swearing, verbal abuse.
“We noticed that people have started opening the gates that are usually closed, to let more cars out.” He said he saw at least one scuffle break as people’s anxiety about being stuck mounted. “It was like throwing hands each other”, he said. “It was this lady and another lady, the first lady had a child with diabetes.
Fans heading to United’s match against Newcastle on Monday night
(Image: Getty Images)
“They were screaming ‘we’ve been here five hours’, and ‘we’re not letting you pass’. Everyone started shouting saying stop being so selfish – I’ve never seen anything like it, it’s a Christmas nightmare.”
Natalia Suska, 33, and her partner Piyush Sheopuri, 31 had gone to the Trafford Centre to pick up a Pandora order and got stuck. Piyush said: “People have parked up on the footpath and the grass as well.
“We’ve been here two hours. I’ve never experienced something like that, even the day before Christmas. It wasn’t that bad, we’ve been here on the 23rd and it was busy but not that much.”
Others took to social media to vent their frustration. Julie Brannan wrote on Facebook: “Stuck on the car park at the Trafford centre – absolute joke !!! No traffic stewards or anything and they are just letting more on and NOBODY can get off just total gridlock – goodness knows how long – we’ve been sat here for an hour and a half and have moved about 10 feet.”
Lesley Courtney posted: “Been to Trafford Centre today, absolute chaos! Never seen it so busy, turned round and came home!” Whilst Gemma Causton wrote: “Trafford Centre NEVER AGAIN!! Been sat in the carpark trying to get out for 1 hour, nothing moving anywhere.” The Bee Network and Stagecoach said local bus services were delayed by up to an hour.
A spokesperson for the Trafford Centre told the M.E.N: “With a busy day at the centre, combined with external factors such as the Manchester United game taking place nearby, the roads in and out of the centre were more congested than usual.
“We worked closely with Greater Manchester Police and the highways authorities, deploying officers in key areas, to try and get things moving as quickly as possible. We appreciate our visitors’ patience whilst trying to get in and out of the car parks.”