DRIVERS have told how they were forced to call the police after they were trapped in traffic for four hours trying to leave a car park.
Shoppers trying to leave the Arndale car park in Manchester city centre say they were stuck in colossal queues last night.
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And it’s not the first time this has happened – as things got so bad last weekend that motorists were forced to abandon their cars.
Chris Thornley, 52, and his partner had come to the city centre for a visit to the Christmas markets yesterday – but were shocked when they returned to their car.
He says it was “absolute mayhem” and the pair were forced to wait two hours just to get down one floor of the multi-storey.
The couple got to their car at 4.20pm – and were unable to get outside until 8.30pm.
He told Manchester Evening News: “A man told me he was supposed to be at work at 6pm.
What if you were elderly, needed the toilet or had a baby with you? The air was intoxicated with car fumes from all the engines running and people were sounding their horns – it was absolute mayhem.”
Chris was so desperate that he and his partner had considered leaving their cars and catching a train.
He said: “You can go in the car park, but you can’t get out.
“I will never, ever take a vehicle in to that car park ever again. I have texted everybody I know saying ‘avoid, avoid, avoid.’”
It comes after drivers were last week forced to call the police at the same car park.
One driver, who had two young children with him in the car, said: “My daughter had a children’s birthday party in the city centre.
“We got back to the car at around 4:45pm, then we went to drive out and we got about 10 yards and we were in a queue.
“Time was ticking along and then it was about 7:10pm when we got to level 11 – so it took two-and-a-half hours to go down one level.”
He continued: “I ended up phoning the police to ask if there was a problem and to share information that there were more than 400 people trying to get out.
“People started abandoning their cars in the queue to get food.
“People were shouting and swearing and it all descended into chaos. The horns were constant.
“It became very uncomfortable.”
Peter Boulton of TfGM is advising visitors for the month ahead to plan their journeys well.
In a statement, he said: “Manchester is a top destination and with a number of events and the Christmas markets adding to the usual retail and leisure offering, the last couple of weekends have seen increased numbers of people travelling into the city centre by both car and public transport.
“We’d encourage anyone coming to Manchester to think about how they are going to get in, around and out of the city and to plan their journey in advance, avoiding the busiest times and routes where possible.”
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