(Taken from Wales Online 18/7/12)
Details of road closures during Cardiff’s Olympic football matches have been released by Cardiff Council and South Wales Police.
Olympic football begins at the Millennium Stadium on Wednesday July 25, and there will be 11 matches across eight days with the last one being played on August 10.
For all Olympic matches there will be road closures in place around the Millennium Stadium. The following roads will be closed in their entirety:
Duke Street, Castle Street, High Street, St Mary Street, Caroline Street, Wood Street, Central Square, Westgate Street, Quay Street, Guildhall Place, Golate, Park Street, Havelock Street and Scott Road.
The following roads will be partially closed:
- Kingsway – from its junction with North Road/Boulevard de Nantes to its junction with Duke Street.
- Cowbridge Road East – from its junction with Cathedral Road to its junction with Westgate Street.
- Tudor Street – from its junction with Clare Road to its junction with Wood Street.
- Plantagenet St and Beauchamp Street – from their junctions with Despenser Place to their junctions with Tudor Street.
View Cardiff Olympic road closures in a larger map
Residents and traders will still be able to get access to Tudor Street, Plantagenet Street and Beauchamp Street.
The road closures will be put in place two and a half hours before the kick off for each match, and stay in place until at least an hour after the game ends. The closures will also affect bus services in the city centre. A full list of the alternations to Cardiff Bus services can be found on their website.
A new campaign, called “Get Ahead of the Games” has been launched to communicate directly with people travelling to matches.
The website and @GAOTG Twitter feed will give tips, travel information and advice on how to plan ahead and avoid congested areas.
Cardiff Council has also advised that the best way of travelling to and from Cardiff city centre for the football is using the park and ride services near junction 33 of the M4, which costs £10 per car.
The park and ride will include provisions for disabled passengers, with parking next to the bus pick-up point, and low-floored buses.
Cardiff Council said the site would open 30 minutes before the first bus, and close 30 minutes after the last bus leaves the city centre. The authority said ticket holders should allow 15 minutes walk from the drop-off point to the stadium, and a further 40 minutes to reach your allocated seat.
The timings for the road closures and park and ride information are:
- July 25 – Great Britain v New Zealand and Camaroon v Brazil. First kick-off 4pm. Road closures begin at 1.30pm and end at 9.30pm. First bus from park and ride 10am, last bus from city centre 10.30pm.
- July 26 – Brazil v Egypt. Kick-off 7.45pm. Road closures begins 5.15pm and end at 10.30pm. First bus from park and ride 10am, last bus from city centre 11.30pm
- July 28 – New Zealand v Brazil and Great Britain v Cameroon. First kick- off 2.30pm. Road closures begin at 12noon and end at 8pm. First bus from park and ride 9.30am, last bus from city centre 9pm.
- July 31 – Japan v South Africa. Kick-off 2.30pm. Road closures begin at 12noon and end at 5.15pm. First bus from park and ride 10am, last bus from city centre 6.30pm.
- August 1 – Mexico v Switzerland and Great Britain v Uruguay. First kick-off 5pm. Road closures begin at 2.30pm and end at 10.30pm. First bus from park and ride 9.30am, last bus from city centre 11.30pm
- August 3 – Quarter Final Women’s. Kick-off 5pm. Road closures begin at 2.30pm and end at 7.45pm. First bus from park and ride 10am, last bus from city centre 9pm.
- August 4 – Quarter Final men’s. Kick-off 7.30pm. Road closures begin at 5pm and end at 10.15pm. First bus from park and ride 9.30am, last bus from city centre 11.30pm
- August 10 – Bronze Medal playoff Men’s. Kick-off 7.45pm. Road closures begins at 5.15pm and end at 10.30pm. First bus from park and ride 9.30am, last bus from city centre 11.30pm
There will also be free coach parking on Edward VII Avenue, and secure parking for bikes in Sophia Gardens.
Cardiff’s cabinet member for highways, traffic and transport, Councillor Ralph Cook, said:
“Hosting the Olympics Games is a huge milestone in Cardiff’s history and we want to make sure the events hosted in the city run as smoothly as possible for both residents and visitors to the capital. The city has already proven time and time again how we have the right infrastructure in place to be a world class event venue.
“We have worked closely with the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG), The Millennium Stadium and South Wales Police to ensure everyone’s safety is the priority, this is why it is essential to have these road closures in place.
“Officers will meet with city centre businesses regarding deliveries and we will continue to communicate with residents via Capital Times, local press, the council website and the council’s Twitter feed regarding details for the Olympics.”
Arriva Trains Wales has also warned that city centre stations will be operating differently throughout the games at the Millennium Stadium.
Cardiff Queen Street station will be closed for an hour before kick off of each game at the Stadium, and in some instances will remain closed until the following morning. Details of the closures for each event day can be found here.
Bicycles will not be allowed on on Arriva Trains Wales trains in the lead up to, during and after the matches. Full details of these restrictions can be found here.