To think this must be illegal and chessington EOA are putting the public At risk

[user1492337624]

So been chessington today
Been a pretty good day a few issues but nothing major
Of course it was busy as you would expect on a bank holiday weekend

But the thing that really ruined the day was getting trapped in the gridlocked car park for , almost two hours

I mean surely this must be breaking some kind of health and safety law

Who can I report this to other Than merlin ?
Health and safety executive ?
Someone else better to report it too

Been to chessington

Go to chessington.

Sensible people leave an hour or two before closing time. I take it you're not sensible OP?

if you don't pack your car for bank holiday traffic, that's on you! We had to travel this weekend and filled the car with emergency supplies for what is usually a straight forward short journey. everywhere is gridlocked, this is not an isolated problem created by Merlin!

You're also mad for going to legoland this weekend.

Is there anything that someone does not want to report.

It is Bank Holiday Week-end - lots of people, lots of cars - who would have thought it

Well for starters merlin could add the parking charge onto the ticket prices as that was majorly holding up the traffic as they tookpeoplesmoneyat the barrier
Also they knowitwill. Be busy not just on bankhokidays but it will often be busy on nice sunny days n school holidays etc so they should be made to have plans for this

Better organisation
Better car parks
And add car park prices onto the ticket price

Easy things to majorly improve things

What specific elf and safety risks where there OP?

What happens if they don't drive there then?

Its not a healthy saftey issue. Its a bank holiday. This shit happens.

How do you expect them to stop standing traffic.

If people pay on the way out, it means you only pay for how long you are there? Which is a advantage to people with yearly passes.

It can be really hard to turn right out of there and it really backs up the traffic, they could do with some traffic lights on the main road to stop the traffic so people can get out.

Yes, I see, bugger up the traffic on the main road instead. No way.

We went to Drayton Manor once with my parents and sister and all my nieces and nephews, so 3 cars. We were parked in the disabled car park and they were all in the other one. It was heaving to get out. However they sent the people parked in the disabled carpark out of another exit.

Almost an hour and a half later my sister phoned saying "when you come past, let us out and we'll let mum and dad out!" We were almost home! She was fuming, we were laughing, although we wouldn't have been had the situation have been reversed.

That was a Bank Holiday weekend too!

It's a pain in the arse, true, however - they cannot allow such a huge influx of vehicles into the local roads in one hit as this would cause carnage on the local infrastructure and planning would not allow it. I would write to them and the local authority suggesting multiple exits.

It was particularly busy around Chessington yesterday (happened to look at the map app, and the length of red traffic was horrendously long)

It was an unusual peak. Traffic planning is more accurately based on typical busy/peak levels. So I don't think they should be bringing in other traffic management issues.

That are also unlikely to put a partking charge into entrance tickets because they are encouraging people to come by rail or bus, and there is no reason why people not using the parking should subsidise it.

Yes, it's jolly bad luck for you, and must have been rather horrid.

They only advice, should you decide to visit on a day which could turn out to be exceptionally busy, is to book and pay for then express parking. It's not that much more and usually works faster.

The buggeration of rail services in and out of Waterloo is probably a one-off factor increasing the number going by car.

They've got at least 3 vehicle exits IIRC

Op I'm familiar with the area. There are two main car parks and three exits. If the roads the car parks exit on to are busy already due to rush hour/a road traffic accident or general traffic then what do you expect Chessington to do? They don't control the roads.

Those roads are often very slow moving even in winter when the park is closed.

The alternative is to walk to the local station, which is Chessington South, get a train from there. Or you could get one of the very frequent public buses which run directly from the park and go to Chessington/Surbiton/Kingston railway stations. Or leave early.

Get a grip though, the HSE are busy looking at life and death situations, investigating things like this are a waste of their time as pp pointed out, it happens regularly to commuters.

You're right that they should have better arrangements for parking charges, e.g. making people pay on entrance to the car park. But I suspect that wouldn't make much difference on busy days - it probably helps to regulate the flow out onto the main road.

Yes more exits would also majorly improve things
I don't know how an emergency service like fire or ambulance would get though if they needed to either

I do think chessington have got very lucky with the planning being old enough that they got away with such shit road access, the road doesn't really work for a drivable attraction, and if it was built now the road accesses would need to look very different. And would be smoother - although mostly smoother for the passing traffic rather than leaving.

The walk from the train station really isn't far, although none of the nearby stations have a huge amount of parking either, but certainly they have some, and the roads other than the one right outside are actually pretty good at dealing with the traffic volumes.

Emergency services would get through because those risk assessments are done at the planning stages and failure to abide would result in massive fines. Don't be worrying about them.

For you, a hot day, bank holiday weekend, busy venue. You should have planned ahead. Its not rocket science to assume the carpark will be busy at chucking out time.

Drinks, snacks, windows down or air con on.

I fail to see how it's a H & S hazard if you take responsibility for yourself.

OMG did you nearly die, hun?
Fummin, you should sue!

Theme Park busy on sunny bank holiday shocker.

The DM will be all over this!

Either don't leave at the latest possible time or don't go at peak times. Granted all parking should have been paid for in advance of the barrier and it should have been enforced. We've been stuck at Legoland at peak times and as for any major car racing events, I wouldn't recommend you do those as per PP above!

Too many people just accept this like lemmings
Of course you expect it to be busy
But not to the point of total gridlock

You still haven't explained what you were at risk of.

OP you must have led a very sheltered life if you've never been in gridlocked traffic before , have you never been to a concert at an arena / stadium / large sporting event / the M25 .

"Of course you expect it to be busy
But not to the point of total gridlock"

Exactly. That's why I was careful to say that it was an unusual peak.

Because it isn't usually like that. You were unlucky - busy day, when trains stuffed so more local traffic both in the roads and going to attractions. As SunshineBearHug has also said, it's a busy road anyhow, and can slow right down with volume of traffic even at times when the park is quiet.