Okay,
who's been on the Metrolink between Oldham and Manchester? Pretty
nifty, isn't it? If you haven't and you fancy looking at what it's
like, check out this video I shot on the first day of the trams'
service. You'll probably want to scroll through most of it to get the
impression- it's as dull as you'd imagine.
I've
used it a few times as the Oldham Mumps stop isn't too far from my
gaff. Thoughts: clean and smart. It goes to some residential areas
that the trains didn't, (see the new tram's route here)
and it's a nice enough journey. I'd have liked it to have been just a
little bit quicker, to be honest. I'll be using it regularly as it's
quiet and doesn't get packed out like the buses do. I'm not sure that
spaciousness will last long, though.
Here's
the full route, heading from Oldham out to St Werburgh's Road in
Trafford
And
here's the timetable.
As you can see there's an unfortunate gap in the middle of the night,
which is a shame as it would be nice to have a few scoops on a
Saturday night and then get the met back to Oldham, instead of a £30
bastard taxi fare. There are night buses running, but not quite late enough for a proper night out. Things are changing
all the time, though, as the new line proves, and things will
continue to shape up.
One
unfortunate negative point to the Metrolink is lack of free parking
in the city centre. I wanted to see Scarface at the Odeon on Monday
(in a season of old classics), but I was cutting it fine. My usual
parking space is on Corporation st, opposite the CIS tower. It was
free after 6pm, being just outside the 24-hour parking zone. But now
it's not free in any sense: the street has been cordoned off,
presumably for developments to the Rochdale line which is still under
construction.
I
drove around looking for a free space, but I was eventually too late
for the movie and too late to shop, so I headed home. Hmm. If I'd
been on the Goddamn Metrolink to begin with, there wouldn't have been
a problem.
I
have always advocated the Metrolink since it was confirmed for Oldham
in the summer of 2009. No, it doesn't go everywhere in the town, but
no public transport ever has done. And it's definitely faster than
the buses and the trains.
So:
my free parking spot for nights out no longer exists. There are a few
spaces off Quay Street, near the old Granada TV buildings, and I
found a few more down the side of the old BBC building on Oxford Road
(bizarre media trend occuring there). But if you ever parked on
Corporation St at that time, you're going to have to have a scout
around for a new free place- unless you fancy paying £15 in an NCP,
which I, for one, do not. Can anyone else suggest to me where else I
might leave my car for my sober nights out?
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