Festival goers set to attend the annual Parklife Weekender in June are being encouraged to use public transport to travel to the event to avoid traffic chaos.
The music event has been moved from Platt Fields in south Manchester to Heaton Park for the first time this year.
Attendances are expected to reach 80,000 over the course of two days.
Phil Stockford, the Highways Agency’s events planning manager, said: “We aren’t expecting significant congestion issues but with limited on-site parking and no park and ride facilities we are urging people to use public transport rather than drive to the park.’’
Special shuttle buses will be provided over the weekend and the park can be accessed via the Metrolink tram service to Bury.
The event is considerably smaller than the huge Stone Roses reunion concerts held at the Park last summer, which attracted 250,000 visitors over three days.
Heaton Park is adjacent to the M60 between junction 19 at Heaton Park and junction 18 at Simister Island.
Motorway users are being warned that sections of the M60, M62 and M66 around Simister Island may be busy from 10pm over the two days, with the concerts finishing at 11pm.
Anyone caught stopping on the hard shoulder to pick up or drop off festival goers risk being fined £60 and three penalty licence points.
Pedestrians walking anywhere along the motorway carriageway risk a possible fine of £30.
The Parklife Weekender is in its fourth year and is set to see performances from diverse acts such as Johnny Marr, Example, Plan B and Rita Ora.
Anyone planning on driving to the event is being advised to plan their journeys in advance.
More information on travel arrangements is available at www.parklife.uk.com
Picture courtesy of Lee J Haywood via Flickr, with thanks
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