A RESIDENT living in the shadows of one of the most sacred football stadiums has shared her agonising parking experience, saying it is “really hard on match days”.
For the past eight years, Caroline has been living opposite the towering main stand of Crystal Palace FC’s stadium, and the inconvenience she faces on match days is incomparable.
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She says the street where she lives – Holmesdale Road – sees the most footfall on match days with thousands of fans lining up on the road to get in and out of the ground.
And to make things smooth, Croydon Council requires residents at the top of the road to move their cars for the duration of the matches – or face a parking ticket.
But this has turned out to become a huge nightmare for the residents of the street.
Caroline says it gets really difficult to park on match days – and she even gets parking tickets on top of it.
After removing her car from the busy street on a match day, she says she has to find a new spot to park her car – and it gets really inconvenient.
And what is usually a 15-minute routine apparently becomes a two-hour nightmare.
Caroline reportedly told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS): “It’s really hard to park on match days. I get annoyed that I get parking tickets.
“They tell us there’s a game coming up with two days’ notice.
“Six months ago I got a ticket once despite asking if it was okay to leave the car there for half an hour, and they said it was fine.
“But I got a ticket for £65. the council said they wouldn’t help me.
“They washed their hands of it.”
Another resident of the area, Osama, said: “They make you move the cars, and around the corner, you used to be able to park on both sides.
“For some reason, they have just stopped that. Now it’s only on certain parts of the road and if you park in the wrong area you get a ticket, which I think is just silly.”
Most of the residents living on the street complain about the short notices that are given to them before they need to remove their cars – and it is generally just a day before a big match.
Crystal Palace recently announced a long-awaited development of the main stand is set, with works likely to begin next year.
The expansion will see the stadium’s capacity increase from 26,000 to 34,000.
This will further increase the problems of overcrowding in the area, especially on Holmesdale Road.
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While residents have been really annoyed because of the consequences of such big crowds entering and exiting the arena, most of them have a positive outlook on the stadium – and unsurprisingly support Crystal FC.
The Sun has approached Selhurst Park Stadium for a comment on the matter.
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