Motorists are being urged to allow plenty of time for their journeys in Northampton on Saturday.
The last Saturday before Christmas coincides with home games for both Northampton Saints and Northampton Town and, although the kick off times have been staggered, congestion is expected from drivers travelling to shopping areas or entering and exiting the town centre.
The Saints game with Harlequins is a sellout, and last weekend congestion was reported in Weedon Road, despite both teams being away.
The Saints’ traffic management plan includes a temporary road order, which sees Duston Road coned on one side during the afternoon, and the turning of Edgar Mobbs Way into a dual carriageway between 4.45pm and 6.15pm to help users of the club’s official car parks make their way onto the Northampton ring road.
Inspector Jen Helm from Northamptonshire Police said: “We would ask motorists planning to attend the matches, or planning to go Christmas shopping in the area, to leave plenty of time for their journeys, to park considerately and prepare for delays to journey times especially when leaving the stadiums or the shopping area.”
The Saints are encouraging supporters to use the official car parks in Edgar Mobbs Way, which open at 11am, and to not leave their journey to Franklin’s Gardens until the last minute.
Club spokesman Chris Wearmouth said: “Over the past few months we have been working closely with the police, the county and borough councils, the Cobblers and residents associations regarding both short and long-term ways of managing traffic on match days.
“We echo the police advice for supporters attending Saturday’s game against Harlequins to allow plenty of time for their journeys to and from Franklin’s Gardens, and for everyone else who would normally use Weedon Road and Harlestone Road as their routes out of Northampton to plan their journey times in advance to avoid clashing with either the Saints or Cobblers game.
“This Saturday falls on the last weekend before Christmas and west Northampton was always going to be busy, particularly in traffic bottlenecks. Everyone involved will be working their hardest to manage the traffic flow as best as we can, and we ask the Northampton public to work with us.”
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