Leeds Central Station car park

[Keg]

Haven't posted for a while due to travelling but still keep up with all the posts. It's as good as ever!Now to the subject in hand.Went to the station yesterday evening and it was mayhem. The backlog of traffic seemed to be caused by private hire cabs not having any passengers and queueing. Half of the shortstay car park was also blocked up by the same cabs with no customers.This seems to be a regular problem every time I go down there. Has anyone else noticed this?

[Cardiarms]

City Station, or even Wellington but not Central! ;-DYes it's appallingly inadequate.

[Phill_dvsn]

Railways built in the Victorian era had vision of mass transport for all, but not the motor car. Most major cities have a railway viaduct crossing the City cutting it in half like Leeds. The resulting stations also built up on arches too and limiting space. Most stations had goods yards, and sometimes warehouses under the station like Leeds. Duncan Street before widening. But as long as there was enough room for people, and a horse and cart to get about the planners were happy. Leeds has very little room for the motor car above. I do feel with all that space where the Queens Hall was that some kind of bus, and taxi interchange could be built today. I doubt some major landmark building of any merit will ever go up there.                

[Cardiarms]

I think a building without merit is going up at the moment. Steel frame, glass wall, cube, exciting business, retail, opportunity, providing a modern experience of desk interfacing.

[Phill_dvsn]

Cardiarms wrote: I think a building without merit is going up at the moment. Steel frame, glass wall, cube, exciting business, retail, opportunity, providing a modern experience of desk interfacing. Point taking, without merit What a wasted opportunity that area has been for decades, why do L.C.C always settle for mediocre?

[Phill_dvsn]

I remember it now.Photo from this 'City Talking' article herehttp://thecitytalking.com/news/2012/8/29/new-city-centre-green-space-planned-for-sovereign-street.htmlPhoto from this 'Leeds Citizen' article herehttp://theleedscitizen.wordpress.com/2013/10/31/council-exec-to-rubberstamp-park-and-ride-and-sovereign-street-development/    

[Cardiarms]

That's it, I wonder if it will manage to live up to the drawings. It's not very inspiring is it.

[cnosni]

Phill_dvsn wrote: I remember it now.Photo from this 'Leeds Citizen' article herehttp://theleedscitizen.wordpress.com/2013/10/31/council-exec-to-rubberstamp-park-and-ride-and-sovereign-street-development/     Believe it or not but this image (of the green bit they are calling an urban park) is the improved proposal.I believe that part of the overall plan is to open up the arches through to Mill Hill/ Bishopgate Street.The car park situation at the station is a joke. The backlog of traffic can extend up Aire Street/Whitehall Road,whilst at the same time blocking the road in front of the Queens Hotel (not its drop off road i might add)Private hire cabs are not allowed to use the taxi rank at the front (main entrance) of the station,thats for Hackney Carriage taxis only.Their presence at the Wetherspoons entrance exascerbates an already chaotic situation of having only enough space for about 5 cars to pick up/drop off at any one time. This leads to people stopping on the road to drop people off and collect.Occasionally BTP will come out and direct traffic,but usually its some poor so and so who earns minimum wage at the NCP multi story who comes out and attempts to bring order to the circus.His efforts are mostly ignored and as far as i can see the short stay car park should actually be the one utilised as the designated drop off/collection area.Problem is ,how to police it as we know full well that some people will just park up and toddle off for god knows how long.Having said that i cant think how ny better it is at any other major UK train stations,Kings Cross is abysmal.Got to agree with you Phil with regards the area being a bus interchange/ Taxi set up,given the new southern entrance being built it would still not be beyond teh wit of man to have been able to create a direct link into the station at the east end.

[Loiner1960]

That's what happens when the Wellington Street station was knocked down. With fewer cars and taxi's the City, Wellington Street and Central could handle lots more passengers than the railway station now. With only pedestrian access for the South entrance I for see problems. From 24 platforms in the 1960s to 17 now.. Or is it 19 with the terminus ones.

[BIG N]

As someone who has spent many long periods of time going nowhere fast in the resultant gridlock around the station and Aire Street / Whitehall road can I just add that the problem is not entirely the result of the station itself.Let me try and explain, traffic for the station, both private cars and minicabs, arrives along Aire Street, drops off or picks up its passengers then departs again along Aire Street. Now, traffic heading for Wellington Street and out of the City is supposed to turn right into Thirsk Row and then left into Wellington Street and join the queue from there, however many drivers prefer to continue along Whitehall Road in a vain attempt to beat the traffic then make an illegal right turn into Northern Street to head for Wellington Street - this despite the junction of Whitehall Road and Northern Street being clearly marked as "no right turn".What then happens is the traffic attempting to turn right fails to leave enough room for traffic travelling along Whitehall Road to squeeze past, this soon backs up back to the roundabout outside the station entrance, its then only a very short matter of time before traffic is then queued all the way back to, and beyond Northern Street, and as we all know, they are incapable of leaving a gap at a junction when there is nowhere to go so this then prevents traffic from turning right both illegally into Northern Street and also legally into Thirsk Row.Of course, once this gridlock has brought Aire Street, Whitehall Road and of course the station car park itself to a standstill it then goes on to stop traffic leaving City Square which in turn blocks the bottom of Park Row and also brings the traffic flow under the dark arches to a standstill.One way of easing the situation would be fairly cheap and simple - placing an island in the middle of the Northern Street / Whitehall Road junction that prevents traffic from turning right there would stop the road being blocked by drivers attempting an illegal move.