We’re not even in peak Christmas shopping period and it’s already horrendous
Traffic at Parsonage Retail Park in Leigh(Image: Manchester Family / MEN)
Do you remember when you used to be able to nip to your nearest retail park? if you just needed some last minute veg for a Sunday dinner, or needed to stock up on some packed lunch supplies for the kids, it didn’t used to be an ordeal.
But now, it doesn’t really matter where in Greater Manchester you live, traffic is a nightmare.
After realising we needed a new extension lead for some Christmas lights, I found myself at Parsonage Retail Park in Leigh, Wigan, on Sunday afternoon.
I’d initially parked on the main car park, near Sainsbury’s, but then made my way over to the spaces in front of Aldi and B&M, on the opposite side of Leighbrook Way. What a mistake.
Motorists queuing to leave the car park on Sunday afternoon(Image: Manchester Family / MEN)
Still with an hour to go before closing, traffic was at a standstill. Drivers were just sitting there in their cars, refusing to even turn their engines on because they knew they weren’t going anywhere anytime soon.
I was one of them. Seeing the lines of cars waiting to exit the car park, I decided to do a bit more shopping while I was there. Every minute counts when you spend all week in work and there’s always something I’ve forgotten. But I still ended up sitting there for around 30 minutes before I could leave the site.
We’re not even in the peak Christmas shopping period yet, but wherever you go it seems to take so much longer to get anything done.
Traffic around the Trafford Centre is already building up midweek, let alone at weekends and we’ve previously reported on drivers being stuck trying to exit Trafford Retail Park, which is notoriously difficult.
I’d much prefer to visit the shops than buy everything online, but when it’s become so impossible to get around, it feels like the most sensible option.
Traffic was at a standstill(Image: Manchester Family / MEN)
And it’s not just at retail parks either. Last week we reported on chaos in the city centre with motorists and shoppers complaining about traffic gridlock over the weekend.
Some took to social media fuming that ‘the whole of town is now a car park’ amid chaotic scenes of traffic jammed along major routes of the city centre including Princess Street, John Dalton Street, Deansgate, Quay Street and Bridge Street.
Many have hit out at the changes to the road system in the city centre in recent months, which has seen Deansgate become almost entirely one way for traffic. The changes were made by Manchester Council earlier this year in a bid to make the city centre more cycle-friendly and safer for pedestrians.
Brookhouse Group, which manages the main Parsonage Retail Park, told the Manchester Evening News it is not responsible for the car park in front of Aldi and B&M when approached for comment.
Have you found traffic worsening in your area? Do you struggle to get about, even at the weekend? Where is your local hotspot? Let us know in the comments here.