'True spirit of Eid is not revving engines and blaring music': Thousands flood Manchester for Muslim festival

Just ban it if they can do it peacefully.

a group of local residents and traders have been suggesting for a few years now that Wilmslow Rd is pedestrianised for both evenings of Eid and that the street is filled with tables and families eat outside - ie outdoor banquet. Many families would come down for ice creams and cakes after their family meals, many other people would come and eat a full meal, or stand around chatting and celebrating the end of the fast; the shisha cafes would be full of people watching the world going by, it would be a wonderful improvement to a festival that already attracts thousands of all ages late into the evening. The atmosphere amongst all people on the street is happy, friendly and almost entirely alcohol-free .... a far cry from Fallowfield only 1/2 mile down the road. There could be street magicians and entertainers along with the balloon-sellers. So frustrating it hasnt happened yet!!

Of course closing the road would discourage the drivers!

All the guys (and it is nearly all men) in cars want to do is drive up and down the curry mile. They spend all night queuing to do so. If they knew in advance the curry mile would be closed to vehicles then why would they spend money on car hire and come into town at all?

As for "disruption to public transport", only a fool would suggest there's no disruption as it is. The traffic is practically stationary anyway. No-one is going anywhere. Close the road, let the families park up, the locals walk in, and the buses can be re-routed around that section of Wilmslow Road as they have been in the past. Let the festival spill into the street in a way that's safe.

Last night the inconsiderate "minority" were queued all the way up Platt Lane, holding their horns down constantly, until 2am on a Sunday night when most people were trying to sleep. The police were doing nothing to stop this anti-social behaviour. For all I know they'll be at it again tonight, giving the Asian community a bad name.

So, once more, for the benefit of festival-goers and local residents, close the road for Eid.

meant first

i like the last suggestion

It's no joke; trying to get from A to B via Rusholme on Eid nights is an exercise in futility. Buses would often reroute and not everyone was made aware of this. I was sexually and verbally harassed by Asian youths whilst waiting at the bus stop back in Eid 2001. I wouldn't recommend any female walk that way alone.

Well done to the local councillor for highlighting this and being brave and bold emough to speak out against behaviour which is stopping ordinary families from visiting Wilmslow Road at Eid time.

The vast majority are from other towns and cities; it is not uncommon to find youngsters who have travelled from as far as Glasgow, Birmingham and Bradford!

Closing the road would represent disruption to public transport but the main reason for not doing so is that the minority of individuals with hired cars would still turn up in Manchester. If they were not allowed to drive down Wilmslow Road then they would drive recklessly through neighbouring residential areas and this would result in a greater impact on the local residents. The way forward is to discourage this type of 'celebration'.

I don't understand who actually does that, because most of the people who come to the Curry Mile on that day aren't even from Manchester!

"Driving up and down Wilmslow Road in a hired car, ‘revving’ engines, blaring music from vehicles, drinking alcohol and committing acts of anti-social behaviour is not part of celebrating Eid or a part of the Islamic faith."

So why not close the road to cars for Eid?