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Original poster

Manchester Fining Hellhole.

209 replies

Minnierose11 · 05/09/2023 21:45

We recently visited Manchester from Devon for a birthday break, never been before and wanted to sample the city's shopping and eateries.

I'll never visit again - the whole place feels like a scamming hellhole.
One morning walking to our car (parked in a car park) at £21.95 for 8 hours and over when a EHO stopped us and tried to fine us £200 on the spot for supposedly spotting us drop fag butts on the floor ... WE DONT EVEN SMOKE!!
My husband refused to give our details and we walked off to which he claimed to call the police and followed us all the way back to our hotel where we sat in our room for 40 minutes feeling rather panicked!!

Now back at home, we've just received a fine for driving through a 'bus gate', of which being from Devon never even knew was a thing!! I know of bus lanes, clearly marked on the road but a bus gate??
No vehicle access between the hours of 6am and 9pm... and a sign which supposedly indicates that which I've never seen before in my life. Not even in the Highway Code..
and I know fear we may have another one or two on the way, because we were none the wiser! Just blindly following the sat nav around a city we'd never visited before.

Never again!

Manchester Fining Hellhole.
OP posts:
Thread gallery
7
Crikeyalmighty · 05/09/2023 23:05

I like Manchester but bloody hell it's a nightmare in a car - worse than London I thought. I enjoyed Liverpool a lot- stayed in the Wirral in a lovely Airbnb and got merseyrail in .

Magnoliainbloom · 05/09/2023 23:12

Mancunian who has lived in London for 20 years. I made the mistake of driving in Manchester a few months ago. It was incredibly stressful and I was certain I had contravened a number of rules, but no fines came. As much as I love the city and it’s people, the town center is rather dull and has lost its vibe. I can’t imagine I’ll go again. London is an absolute dream to drive in.

HarrietSchulenberg · 05/09/2023 23:13

Use a sat nav or Google Maps and shop around for parking - am assuming you got suckered into using an NCP. It helps to do a smidgeon of research before you drive and park in a city you don't know. Manchester's no worse than any other city for driving but the EHO sounds like a dick.

Livelovebehappy · 05/09/2023 23:20

I live in the North, and Manchester is my least favourite city (apart from the Trafford Centre). Liverpool and Leeds are far far better.

AcclimDD · 05/09/2023 23:21

As well as Liverpool city centre being much more aesthetically pleasing than Manchester OP, you can actually drive in the Liverpool bus lanes too. I don't think I've ever come across a 'bus gate' in Liverpool either.

Floatlikeafeather2 · 05/09/2023 23:22

You obviously don't get out much at all, OP. There are bus gates in both Exeter and Barnstaple. Open your eyes and ears to what is going on around you.

LulooLemon · 05/09/2023 23:26

Another one here who has never seen a bus gate before. I wonder how many I've driven through!

DdraigGoch · 05/09/2023 23:26

Emz6103 · 05/09/2023 22:47

She didn't ask who's fault is, might be a common sign, but not everyone knows what it is! I've never heard of a bus gate either!

A red circle means "prohibited" and a picture of a car and a motorbike means that those are the things prohibited. How hard is it?

whynotwhatknot · 05/09/2023 23:27

I live in a town in essex not that big we have a bus gate

you cant blame yru sat nav to where you go that wont be accepted as an excuse

Georgeandzippyzoo · 05/09/2023 23:29

Gonna admit I don't drive around the country but I've never heard nor seen a bus gate, def not around where we live. Asked DH and he said he didn't know what it was either!

PurpleWhirple · 05/09/2023 23:43

Verytall · 05/09/2023 22:15

Are you really complaining that parking and driving is bad in a city centre?

That'd be like me going to Devon and being surprised that I can't get an Uber or that there's no night buses!

Of course parking will be expensive in a city. That sign - no cars or motorcycles - is very much in the highway code. Cities should be discouraging car use and prioritising public transport.

Exactly!

Allywill · 05/09/2023 23:53

I understand the sign but can someone tell me what you are supposed to do at the point you see the sign - do a u turn? it seems to be saying you will reach a t junction and are not allowed to turn left or right. So basically you can’t go anywhere?

wejammin · 06/09/2023 00:05

Allywill · 05/09/2023 23:53

I understand the sign but can someone tell me what you are supposed to do at the point you see the sign - do a u turn? it seems to be saying you will reach a t junction and are not allowed to turn left or right. So basically you can’t go anywhere?

If that's the bit of road I think it is (near the hospital with the Whitworth art gallery to the right) then yes, you have to do a u-turn.

Mumof2teens79 · 06/09/2023 00:10

Minnierose11 · 05/09/2023 21:45

We recently visited Manchester from Devon for a birthday break, never been before and wanted to sample the city's shopping and eateries.

I'll never visit again - the whole place feels like a scamming hellhole.
One morning walking to our car (parked in a car park) at £21.95 for 8 hours and over when a EHO stopped us and tried to fine us £200 on the spot for supposedly spotting us drop fag butts on the floor ... WE DONT EVEN SMOKE!!
My husband refused to give our details and we walked off to which he claimed to call the police and followed us all the way back to our hotel where we sat in our room for 40 minutes feeling rather panicked!!

Now back at home, we've just received a fine for driving through a 'bus gate', of which being from Devon never even knew was a thing!! I know of bus lanes, clearly marked on the road but a bus gate??
No vehicle access between the hours of 6am and 9pm... and a sign which supposedly indicates that which I've never seen before in my life. Not even in the Highway Code..
and I know fear we may have another one or two on the way, because we were none the wiser! Just blindly following the sat nav around a city we'd never visited before.

Never again!

Have you visited many cities? And if so do you normally take a car and drive around the city centre?

Having said that driving and parking in Manchester is a dream compared to villages and towns in parts of Devon, especially during summer holidays

TimeFlysWhenYoureHavingRum · 06/09/2023 00:28

This thread shows why regular mandatory refresher lessons / tests would be a good idea. So many people shouldn't be driving.

Ihateslugs · 06/09/2023 01:10

I live near Manchester and never drive into the city! I park at a park and ride then go in on the tram. The tram network is very extensive and goes much further than just the city centre - if you use it out of peak hours it is not too expensive.

At least we don’t have any clean air zones yet, there was going to be one but it was stopped for some reason. So no extra charges for driving your car in the city, just lots of bus gates, cycle lanes and one way streets - oh and never ending road works!

ScarletWitchM · 06/09/2023 01:40

Allywill · 05/09/2023 23:53

I understand the sign but can someone tell me what you are supposed to do at the point you see the sign - do a u turn? it seems to be saying you will reach a t junction and are not allowed to turn left or right. So basically you can’t go anywhere?

Yes, you need to u turn and go back - not always easy to do but better than a fine

DdraigGoch · 06/09/2023 02:19

I've just tested it on Google Maps and the software knows that there are timed restrictions and redirects you around the roads if you plan a journey for those times.

While I was looking on Street View, I was quite impressed by the standard of cycling infrastructure provided. Motorists are forever whinging about cyclists not using cycle lanes (because they're either circuitous or lethal). Local authorities should look to this set-up on Oxford Road to see how it should be done. No "painted gutters", no "shared spaces", instead the lanes (yes, both directions) are physically segregated by kerbstones from both vehicular and pedestrian traffic. This is how it should be done.

imSatanhonest · 06/09/2023 02:28

Lived in Manchester all my life. Used to drive into the city centre often and had no problems. But that was 20+ years ago. It has changed massively. I get the train in now. Get off at Piccadilly Station and walk down the approach into Piccadilly Gardens, which is a whole other thread in itself. Mancunians will know what I mean.

It's less 'Gardens' and more 'concrete shithole where you fear for your life.' Once you're past there it's like any other city centre with its (many) positives & negatives.

If you don't know the city centre and you're driving, then you need eyes in the back if your head for all the bus lanes, one way streets, roadworks etc it's a minefield!

ClassicStripe · 06/09/2023 02:39

I've never even heard of a bus gate before

BarbaraofSeville · 06/09/2023 03:11

Surely you'd have to be living under a rock to know that driving around a major city is rarely a good idea? That's why Park and Ride or trains exist.

Maybe you should refresh your Highway Code knowledge too, 'blindly following the sat nav' shows an alarming lack of competence at driving.

BarbaraofSeville · 06/09/2023 03:17

Allywill · 05/09/2023 23:53

I understand the sign but can someone tell me what you are supposed to do at the point you see the sign - do a u turn? it seems to be saying you will reach a t junction and are not allowed to turn left or right. So basically you can’t go anywhere?

It's highly likely it wasn't the first sign indicating the bus gate.

So the driver would have already ignored previous instructions to take another route.

Toddlerteaplease · 06/09/2023 03:20

DustyLee123 · 05/09/2023 21:50

Go to Liverpool next time. Much better city.

This. And I haven't found a bud hare there yet. 😂

Toddlerteaplease · 06/09/2023 03:20

Gate.

Someoneonlyyouknow · 06/09/2023 04:10

Tell me you're from the countryside without telling me you're from the countryside?

I don't know Manchester and not the first place I would think of for a city break so congratulations on your bold choice.
I think some places have bus gates which are a rising post in the middle of the lane and the post sinks for buses and taxis? The problem with following a sat nav is that you pay less attention to signs but not understanding a sign is not a good reason for ignoring it.