Coca-Cola Christmas truck in Winchester
Residents, local employees and visitors are being advised to consider their travel plans when the Coca-Cola Christmas truck comes to Winchester.
The vehicle will be in the Broadway in Winchester on Thursday 17 December (12noon to 8pm) as part of a nationwide 46-city tour. The organisers have re-located the event from the High Street following advice from two independent safety consultants and professionals involved in running large-scale events locally such as Hat Fair.
Event organisers Playmaker and Winchester City Council expect the city to be very busy on the day following interest on social media and reported attendance levels at other sites in the UK.
To ease congestion and parking demand, people travelling to Winchester on Thursday 17 December are being advised to travel by train and on foot where possible, while car drivers are asked to car-share and use the Park & Ride car parks.
For event-goers, a signed drop-off area is being created at Barfield Close to decrease the amount of traffic in the one-way system.
The Broadway and Colebrook Street up to the junction of Market Lane will be closed to traffic on 17 December. This will not affect coaches bringing people to the Christmas market but regular service buses leaving the bus station will turn left rather than heading up the High Street and schedules may be affected as a result.
Stagecoach, Hampshire County Council and Winchester City Council are working together with the organisers to ensure appropriate traffic controls are in place and information is relayed effectively on the day.
Local businesses are being informed of the event so that they can help to make the most of it for the city and consider arrangements for deliveries and staff parking that will help the day run smoothly.
Operation of the truck is managed directly by Playmaker. An event control room will be set up to supervise traffic and crowd safety. Crowd management and security experts will be on site throughout the day.