The March - Important details

[BigDukes]

Ok Ladies &Gents, so today we met with Robert Redfern (Parramatta LAC), Parramatta City Council, Transport NSW and Shaun Mielekamp (WSW) to discuss the new march route to leave from The Roxy Hotel. Here is a summary of what was said at the meeting;

 

·  George St walking towards Marsden St, then going up Marsden St towards Victoria Rd was the route initially discussed. This was rejected due to issues concerning traffic on George St, being the main West to East route in the heart of Parramatta, and the fact that it also has a bus route.

 

· The only way that George St march would be approved, would be the closure or partial closure of the street. To do this, It is required that water filled barriers are set up every match day to divide the road. Installing then dismantling these, as well as setting up the event clearways would come at a significant cost, which nobody was willing to bear. This would mean that the only option to use George St, would be to ensure everyone remained on the footpath, which we could not guarantee.

 

·  Alternative route was proposed, this being from the Roxy, straight across George St continuing onto Horwood Place, then left onto Phillip St. Continuing past the intersection of Church St, and turning right onto Marsden St and continuing the normal route onto Marsden St bridge, which will be closed to us as it was at the home semi final

 

· March on Phillip St to continue along the footpath

 

·  Horwood Place (side street adjacent to the Roxy, where the carpark is) to be used as the meeting / rendezvous point for fans not entering the Roxy to commence the march.

 

· Police to facilitate the crossing of the march across George St intersection and Church St intersection as per previous marches.

 

· Marshalls to be briefed on matchday and assist in crowd control and guidance during the march, to reduce the police presence.

 

· Notice of Intention (Schedule 1 form) to be submitted prior to any march going ahead. This cannot be in the name of the RBB Inc, but in the name of an individual. This is required by law, to give police 7 days notice of an intention to hold a public procession. If no form is submitted and a march takes place, anyone marching / walking can be arrested for offences relating to obstructing traffic or other pedestrians, and other related offences

.

· Church St march is NOT an option at this stage, or the near future. Future complete road closures for finals / big games to be discussed closer to the relevant dates.

 

·  One location proposed for families who wish to join onto the back of the march. This is proposed as Dixon Park, on Marsden St, adjacent to Parramatta River, opposite Phillip St. This is for families who wish to participate in the march but who will not be attending any licenced venue.

 

· Shaun Mielekamp offered assistance by way of advertising the proposed start point and route of the march on their website / social media, to assist in informing people who are not necessarily linked with the RBB.

 

So in summary, talks were positive, and everyone is supportive of the march including police and council, as long as it is an incident free march. The march for the home semi final vs Brisbane Roar was mentioned as a perfect example as one that was conducted without any issues.

 

I think the march proceeding down Phillip St, passing Church St intersection and then up Marsden st, is the best option. Marching on Phillip St, will also mean that police presence will be relaxed, as it is not a high risk road that would require excessive traffic management.

 

To conclude, we have nutted out the best possible result for the route and march. We just need to ensure that we can self police any rogue fans who may decide to step out of line or do anything stupid on the march. This is primarily due to the fact that, whoever will put their name to this Notice of Intention form, will be personally liable for any incidents that may arise on the march. This means they could be sued and possibly front a supreme court.  Not to mention the fact that we could lose the march altogether.

 

Your thoughts and input is appreciated.

[Legionista]

So it's not goin past the woolpack? Are they aware that there will be a rush to the roxy from there before the march?

[BigDukes]

So it's not goin past the woolpack? Are they aware that there will be a rush to the roxy from there before the march?

 

Yes

 

But a rush of say 300-400 from Woolpack to Roxy is more manageable than say 1000-2000 from Roxy to Woolpack

 

Re read it again...we cant arrange a safe walk from Roxy to Woolpack along George St..which is a one way road. All it takes is some muppet to stumble on the road, get injured and then I (yes me personally) am being sued

[HeatedHeavy]

without church st march, i think like you've said Dukes, its the best option. and to have the march go across marsden st bridge like in the semi final for every home game i think thatll sort out alot of the congestion that comes from people joining in as the march goes through phillip st etc. not only that, it looked pretty f**kin bad ass when a few thousand of us marched together across the bridge at the semi final.

 

what also might be needed is to at least double, if not triple, the amount of marshals to go along with the march. I for one would like to put my hand up for that one when organising that gets underway.

[MajorMelons]

Good outcome and thanks for taking one for the team and putting your name on the form.

 

Good to see the route swing by the Bavarian beer cafe.

[shakeyourface]

Sounds good, I'm happy with that march route. Now it's up to us to manage any idiots who might put us, you especially Bucca, at risk. Don't want you getting sued because of this. Good work for getting this sorted out for us Bucca!

[Jukes01]

It will be interesting to see how the shopkeepers, bars and restaurant owners react when they realize that we are not marching down Church St. I would imagine most of them wouldn't be too happy about it. Not to worry at least we get to March. Good effort in getting this to happen.

 

Before we head off out of the Roxy can someone just get on the megaphone and ask people to listen to the marshalls. Last year I copped so much sh*t from little punks who want to do their own thing. Half of them don't know we are fans just like them. I don't need the hassle.

[WSW2150]

Corssing through church St via Phillip is a good outcome.

 

That area of church street is very busy and the general public who have not experienced the march will get a feel of what the atmosphere during the march looks/sounds like.

 

People drinking at the Woolpack before the game and who walk to the roxy for the march will be walking in the same direction as the traffic down George St. Cars are genrally also parked all the way down George so the risk of someone getting hit by a car is greatly reduced.

 

Those drinking at the barverian beer cafe can join the march on the corner of Phillip and marsden.

 

Good work mate.

[Erebus]

Is it worth the couple hundred at Woolpack to merely go down Marsden safely and meet the march at the Marsden and Phillip intersection?

Its a much shorter distance than getting those people to go to the Roxy via George St.

[BigDukes]

 

People drinking at the Woolpack before the game and who walk to the roxy for the march will be walking in the same direction as the traffic down George St. Cars are genrally also parked all the way down George so the risk of someone getting hit by a car is greatly reduced.

 

 

 

and this was the major concern which meant going down the whole of marsden street could not be considered...walking against the george st traffic is just to dangerous

 

end of the day, the march is now a community event. Those that partake are sideline fans who outnumber the RBB. What first started as an RBB march is now a general Wanderers fan march..so in saying that everybodys safety is key

 

This allows fans to grasp a tiny bit of active support, but then go back to the comfort of their seats outside of the North End

 

 

Is it worth the couple hundred at Woolpack to merely go down Marsden safely and meet the march at the Marsden and Phillip intersection?

Its a much shorter distance than getting those people to go to the Roxy via George St.

 

Whilst I agree with that, lets be realistic. If that were the case, you would just have people swarming to the woolpack prior to the march to avoid walking that extra 200m or so that this new route encompasses

[telliscope]

Great work in organising this. Cant complain at all with this route, we all need to compromise at times.

[chaldean]

Great work to all involved. Let's work together to keep everybody in line so drop kicks dont ruin it for everyone and young dukes!.

[westofcentre]

Well done BigDukes and everyone involved. 

 

Apologies if I missed it - but is there a set route from the Woolpack to the Roxy marked down? 

 

Phillip St is a decent option - we will cross a busy intersection at Church, its better then nothing.

 

BigDukes - Did they give indication IF people behave (not as simple I know) - that they may put Church St back on the table again later in the season?

Also - If you are liable, I suggest you put all your money in a Swiss bank account

[Benched]

Good work Bucca. Frankly, what ever route we have to undertake (within reason) to get the march back is reasonable if you ask me. After the muppet from the derby, we are very fortunate. If we can show we can manage this, well, who knows what the future holds.

[westofcentre]

Good work Bucca. Frankly, what ever route we have to undertake (within reason) to get the march back is reasonable if you ask me. After the muppet from the derby, we are very fortunate. If we can show we can manage this, well, who knows what the future holds.

 

 

Someone has to know who this guy is.....anyway - sorry to sidetrack - back to the topic!

[Benched]

lol, BigDukes is well known.

[MCHammer]

there are still a number of dining venues along Phillip street. So if we're on the footpath we need to be pretty vigilant around those particular areas. 

also will there be cars parked on Horwood Place? could cause issues if cars are accidentally damaged 

apart from those two points (pretty insignificant anyway) the route looks good! 

[Hughesy]

Excellent work gents. Very encouraging to hear the club will advertise it on social media

[HungHuynh]

I like to put this in. If anyone see someone banging on cars or signs along the way, stop them. Last thing we want to see is vandalism left behind the march..

[BigDukes]

all your issues are points i raised with police, i  mentioned the diners along phillip st, i mentioned the parked cars in horwood place

 

they seem pretty adamant they will ensure they wont be there, so it is therefore once again on the onus of the police to ensure that occurs

 

Once again I stipulate, this was the polices request, not my ideal route but I can see this hopefully reducing the amount of police present on game day

[BigDukes]

lol, BigDukes is well known.

 

lol think he meant the muppet from Church St/ribs and rumps. I have seen the footage and the photo...i honestly can say i have never seen him in my life

[westofcentre]

 

lol, BigDukes is well known.

 

lol think he meant the muppet from Church St/ribs and rumps. I have seen the footage and the photo...i honestly can say i have never seen him in my life

 

 

Lol so we just dob someone we don't like in. 

 

How does the Cove capo sound?

[BigDukes]

hahah now now..no need for that

 

but anyway, to answer your question, behaviour depending, marches will be re looked at for Sydney derby and any finals matches

[Burztur]

How long before the game will the march take place? 

 

Entry to Erby Place Carpark is also along Phillip St. So will Phillip St be closed?

[westofcentre]

hahah now now..no need for that

 

but anyway, to answer your question, behaviour depending, marches will be re looked at for Sydney derby and any finals matches

 

Thanks BigDukes....

 

And why not I mean we got to have some fun! I can just imagine the counter terorrism squad abseiling down the side of his terraced home in Paddington  then swinging through the windows breaking the glass as the Cove Capo is finishing his  high tea and looking to move onto his  Cabernet Sauvignon.

The old phone book to the head would go brilliantly to the melody of Johann Sebastian Bach's Brandenburg Concerto the tosser had playing in the back ground. 

Edited October 9, 2013 by westofcentre

[BigDukes]

How long before the game will the march take place? 

 

Entry to Erby Place Carpark is also along Phillip St. So will Phillip St be closed?

 

were looking at around 75mins prior to kick off

 

Phillip St wont be closed, but fenced along. Police will then adjudge the overflow and if need be, block traffic, close roads on instinct 

[BigDukes]

With this in mind, we are looking for around 20-24 marshalls to conduct the march

 

looking for 10 people from woolpack and 10-14 who will be residing at the roxy

 

If you are interested in getting more involved, this is the perfect opportunity. please let me know

[BruceL]

Me, me! I'll do it if I can get an orange vest! :-)

[HeatedHeavy]

count me in too.

[JamCal]

It honestly seems to me like there should really be two initial marches that merge into one. One from Woolpack, along Marsden to Phillip, which meets with another one which has come down Phillip from Horwood... 

 

 

 

I know you touched it again already, but why isn't that the case BD?