If there are any local Councillors reading this, can we suggest that you get hold a copy of yesterday's Evening Post?

Once you’ve choked on your seemingly infinite supply of tea and biscuits and got past the front page splash (or perhaps that should be dunk?) then there are a couple of articles in there which may just help you to understand and maybe even the solve the ongoing issue that is parking around the Memorial Stadium.

In the first one, Labour Councillor Rosalie Walker’s comments neatly summarise the complaints that have been aired by a section of residents about parking and congestion for some time: “There are plans afoot to enlarge the stadium and put in student housing - but it will only make things worse. People should have the option of being able to get to their own homes without parking miles away, so we are suggesting residents' parking on match days and a park-and-ride from UWE or somewhere like that."

Councillor Walker will argue quite rightly that she is representing a section of her constituents (albeit a very small one), though you do have to ask why she has chosen to make these suggestions in a public forum when there is currently a consultation process underway with regard to Mem regeneration project that offers the opportunity to both councillors and residents to put forward their views so that they are incorporated into the project. It would appear from the comments later on in the article that all of these ideas are already on the table so you could also argue that there’s no reason to raise them at a council meeting other than to generate some nice headlines for yourself.

Just for once wouldn’t it be nice to see someone from the local Council showing some pride in the city’s professional sports teams and also standing up for the thousands of people who help ensure the continued existence of the city’s sporting institutions rather than using them continually for political point-scoring? After all, these clubs have added hugely to the local community over the years and will continue to do so only if people continue to support them.

Maybe if they did that then they’d be able to look at the problem from a different angle, one which would allow them maybe to solve the problem rather than just make the same old comments year in, year out. A good starting point would be the article in today’s Post entitled “A ROUND TRIP OF UP TO 5 HOURS”.

According to that article, a recent report by South Gloucestershire Council's planning and transport select committee has found that bus passengers wanting to travel to Southmead Hospital from the eastern fringe of Bristol face journey times of up to two hours for the trip.

Now re-word that article. Couldn’t it just as easily say:

“bus passengers wanting to travel to the Memorial Stadium from the heartlands of Rovers’ support (i.e. the eastern fringes of the city) face journey times of up to two hours for the trip”.

Add to this a recent 20% hike in bus fares by First Group and you may just start to understand why so many Bristolian sports fans travel to the Mem by car. Is it really feasible to expect people to use public transport for an afternoon of sport when for so many it involves getting a bus into the city centre and then another one out to the Mem?

Yes, a park and ride scheme would help alleviate a lot of the problems on matchdays and is worth pursuing. It’s something that is done by a number of clubs (usually those with out-of-town stadia) and used widely. But for it to be successful then surely it will need the backing of a number of different parties – certainly the football club, the rugby club, the transport operator and UWE but also both Bristol and South Gloucestershire Councils. Can we expect that? Not judging by the comments of the Lib Dem cabinet councillor who is in charge of the council's transport department. He’s already said that any scheme would have to be paid for by the organisers of the events. A quick question: do the city centre’s shops pay for the park and ride service into town on a weekend? And would it not make perfect sense for the Council to be a partner in such a scheme in order to help deliver a range of environmental benefits to the residents of Bristol while at the same time helping both the residents of Horfield and the fans who contribute to the continued existence of two sporting institutions?

Seemingly not – and you wonder why they’re officially one of the worst ten Councils in the country.

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