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transport troubles
A new section of the MEHSTG site
specifically designed to update you on all
the match-day travel options when trying to get to White Hart Lane.
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CAR
Road-works will be scheduled by the
authorities responsible for the main roads around the ground on
match-days to cause the utmost disruption to travelling fans.
Any works involving resurfacing, street
sweeping, gas main work, verge cutting, tree-trimming or coning
carriageways off for no apparent reason will be carried out specifically
timed to coincide with pre- and post-match hours.
This will not be confined to the vicinity
of the ground itself, but will conveniently include the M25, which
always has lanes closed off after evening games and to make sure that
those fans who travel a long distance to games don't feel left out,
local diversions in your home town will make sure that you do not arrive
home until hours after the game has finished.
If you are brave enough to take your car
to the game, you will find the local Council traffic enforcement
officers prowling the streets to catch you should you park in a
Controlled Parking Zone and even the kids won't look after your car for
a fiver. You can choose to park in the £10-£20 car parks that
spring up on any piece of open land (even if the attendants don't own
it) or far enough away to burn off any in ground catering you choose to
consume (see pedestrians). Finding a street parking place on match
day can be hard enough, but the traffic control on the main roads
leading away from the ground (and some of the smaller roads) will leave
you stuck in jams for long periods of time, ensuring that the
environment is destroyed considerably more than before the game.
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BUS
Buses will be on match-day diversion.
No indication of this will be provided at
bus stops near the stadium, thus leaving supporters standing at the bus
stop for a considerable time until the traffic has cleared enough for
busses to resume their normal routes.
Buses on diversion will provide
travellers with an unexpected detour on a scenic route of the more
desperate parts of North London, leaving you a fair walk from the ground
when the buses passes at the nearest point to White Hart Lane (see
pedestrians).
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RAIL
Trains on match-days will be reduced to a Sunday service at short notice.
Alternatively, works on the lines serving White Hart Lane or
Northumberland Park will be set to take place on days when there are
matches at the ground. After the game, trains may stop randomly at
stations along the line and cause you immense inconvenience in getting
to the station you actually require.
All trains that will actually be running
will consist of eight coaches for an hour before the match and an hour
after the match finishes. On whose clock these timings take place
is a mater for the railway companies to decide. In the event of
rain or cold, the trains will shrink to an appropriate number of
carriages that will mean that passengers will be squeezed in to make the
journey as uncomfortable as possible.
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AIR
Flights that will ensure you reach your
destination airport in time to get your connections will inevitably be
delayed.
Alternatively, these could be diverted to
another airport other than Stansted, leaving you a journey across
South-East England to even have a hope of reaching the stadium in time.
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UNDERGROUND
Trains on the Victoria line will be disrupted by works on the line
whenever Tottenham are playing at home.
This can be at weekends and evenings, so
unless Spurs start kicking off their games at 2:00 p.m. on a weekday,
the journey from central London to N17 will not be an easy one on the
light blue tube line.
Not that the tube takes you close to the
ground anyway and they are always packed as you get close to kick off
time.
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CYCLISTSAny supporter
who gets on his or her bike to the game is a brave individual indeed.
As well as battling with the car traffic
(see car) and the pedestrians (see pedestrians), who will flood the road
pre- and post-game, you will need to find somewhere to secure your
bicycle while in the ground. Lamp-posts are not the ideal
location, as many are insecure themselves. Railings are usually
missing a rail or two, thus it is quite familiar to see one wheel or a
cycle lock hanging from what seemd like a good place to lock your bike
up to.
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SCOOTERSThis is not
Italy nor 1965.
If there are any Mods coming to games at
White hart Lane, you are advised to always check in your rear mirrors
before parking your vehicle. By the time you have done this the
game will be over and you will not have to worry about the security of
your Vespa.
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PEDESTRIANSAnyone
walking to the ground is taking the easy route as you just follow the
crowd. However, this is not always the case as once we were
leaving the ground after a morning Boxing Day kick off only to pass some
West Ham fans walking to the ground against the flow of humanity.
While this is a fairly unhindered means
of transport to the ground, although you will have to use one of the
above to get even close to the Lane, there are still some obstacles to
overcome. Uneven pavements; crowds waiting to get into pubs, chip
shops, kebab shops, queuing at ATMs, etc; people handing out leaflets
that you don't want; dodging horse manure dropped on the road; police
stopping you for having a rucksack, etc.
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Logos designed by reho and Ravi Poovaiah
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