A great day out, but not for motorists (Windsor Liberal Democrats)

Windsor Liberal Democrats <info@windsorlibdems.org.uk>

A great day out, but not for motorists

May 8, 2009 12:00 AM
By Ann-Marie Canavan, acanavan@berksmedia.co.uk in The Royal Borough Observer

ROADS in and around Windsor were brought to a standstill on Monday as tens of thousands of visitors converged on the town.

Furious motorists were trapped in jams as record crowds travelled to Windsor Racecourse for a family fun day out and a programme of racing.

Added to by those visiting Legoland the roads were chaotic.

Angry residents have complained to the council after traffic jams in roads including Goslar Way, Imperial Road, Windsor Relief Road, Arthur Road, Maidenhead Road and Clarence Road.

Transport boss for the Royal Borough, Colin Rayner has now asked the racecourse to inform the council when it plans on holding large scale events.

Cllr Rayner said: "The racecourse need to tell the council when they have big events on. We need to put in a road programme and we need to work together as a team. We can get extra council staff out to help. We apologise to the residents who got caught up in the traffic."

The council will be writing to the racecourse to urge better communication.

Racecourse sales and marketing manager, Matthew Foxton-Duffy, admitted the racecourse had been put under pressure from the substantial number of visitors but denied claims that enough wasn't be done to help traffic flow.

He said: "We actually recommend that people come by boat, that is why we introduce our river boat package, we are an island and always will be.

"We do the best we can with what we have available to us. We had a record crowd with more than 10,000 people in attendance so that is great. We had around 2,800 children on site and they all seemed to really enjoy themselves."

As well as the racing, children were kept entertained with pony rides, inflatables, face-painting and a special appearance from Lazy Town character Sportacus.