Residents and visitors to Portsmouth can minimise travel difficulties and help everyone get more out of this exciting bank holiday weekend by planning their journeys before they travel.
Portsmouth City Council is working with Victorious Festival organisers to create a safer space for festival-goers, residents and visitors to the city. To help with this, some roads and facilities within the festival site will close to traffic, and vehicle movement will be limited around the site area.
Clarence Esplanade, Avenue De Caen, Serpentine Way and The Dell will be closed from 6am on Friday 26 August. The Dell will reopen at 8am on Monday 29 August and Clarence Esplanade, Avenue De Caen and Serpentine Way will reopen at 8am on Tuesday 30 August. Drivers who park their vehicles within these areas are reminded to move their vehicles outside of the area before the closures start. Signs on the roads will have more information. The D-Day Story car park will be closed with no access from 9am on Friday 26 August until 8pm Tuesday 30 August. The Pyramids car park will remain open with heavily reduced parking facilities.
Some residential roads surrounding the festival site will also close to through traffic from 10.30pm to midnight over the three days, but residents will still have access.
To ensure the safety of festival-goers as they leave the event, Duisburg Way, Clarence Parade and Palmerston Road will be closed between 10.30pm until midnight on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights. Clarendon Road will operate a one-way system and will be open for buses and taxis only. Roads will reopen as soon as possible after crowds have dispersed.
To help everyone enjoy the weekend and to reduce traffic congestion, residents and visitors are encouraged to use a more sustainable way to get around. By using cars less and avoiding peak times, people can enjoy a healthier, greener way to travel.
Walk or cycle.
Rent a Voi e-scooter (over 18s only) – visit com. Users are reminded to not use e-scooters when intoxicated.
Catch the bus – Firstbus co.uk and Stagecoach – stagecoachbus.com. Bus passengers are advised to check the real time information displays at bus stops for updates. The no. 50 open-top bus route will be diverted over the weekend and will operate from Clarence Pier to Pier Road roundabout.
Catch the shuttle bus – Xelabus X27 festival service from The Hard Interchange stand N daily from 9am until 8pm every fifteen minutes, and from Clarence Pier bus stand from 9.45am until 11pm every fifteen minutes.
Use Park & Ride portsmouth.gov.uk The PR1 service will continue its regular service, operating from Tipner every 15 minutes from 7am to 7.15pm on Friday, 8am to 7.15pm on Saturday and from 9am to 6pm on Sunday. route will be Clarence Pier, before returning to the Tipner site. Overnight parking at Park & Ride is not permitted. For later evening festival goers, please use the specified Victorious Park & Ride from Lakeside.
Cllr Lynne Stagg, Cabinet Member for Traffic and Transportation, said: “We’re working closely with festival organisers to make this weekend a safe and enjoyable experience for everyone, whether they are visiting, or already living in the city, and we’ve put in some temporary road closures and parking restrictions to help with that.
“I’d like to ask visitors and residents to consider their journey plans before they set off as this will really help to keep the city’s traffic on the move during this busy time. There are lots of ways people can swap their car for a greener, simpler way to travel, like walking, cycling, renting an e-scooter or taking a bus. For festival-goers, using the coach or Victorious Park & Ride to reach the site will reduce traffic on the roads and help to keep our air cleaner and safer to breathe.”
In addition to the recommended ways to travel in and around the city, people attending the festival can choose from a number of options to reach right to the heart of the event. To help plan journeys and avoid delays, people are urged to check operators’ websites before travelling.
Victorious Festival Park and Ride from Lakeside, North Harbour with buses operating from 9am on Saturday and Sunday (10am on Friday) until midnight.
People who cycle can use the bike parks in guard-patrolled areas during festival opening times.
Big Green Coaches will operate from 20 pick-up points in surrounding areas with direct routes to the festival.
Wightlink Ferries have added additional sailings at 10pm, 11.15pm and 12.30am.
Gosport Ferry runs until 12.30am with a smaller, late-night boat operating until 4am.
Hayling Ferry will operate a bus service from Eastney to the festival on the Saturday and Sunday 11am to 7.30pm and 10pm to 11.45pm.
For more information about the festival, the Victorious Park and Ride service and other ways to get to and from the event visit victoriousfestival.co.uk.
For people not attending the festival there’s still a wealth of activities and opportunities to enjoy across the city including attractions, shopping, entertainment, eating and drinking. To find out more visit www.visitportsmouth.co.uk
For live Portsmouth travel updates follow Twitter @portsmouthroads
To view the full road closures and restrictions visit www.portsmouth.gov.uk and search ‘TTRO 154/2022’
