Drivers forced to abandon vehicles after getting caught in three-hour car park queue

Multi-storey car park operator blames traffic lights letting cars out ‘very slowly’

Shoppers were left stranded in a Cardiff multi-storey car park for up to three hours over the Easter bank holiday weekend, with some choosing to abandon their cars altogether.

A huge queue of cars was seen lined up inside the multi-storey car park at St David’s Shopping centre on Saturday.

St David’s blamed traffic and the local council for the backlog, saying council-controlled traffic lights outside the building were letting vehicles out only “very slowly” and that an unusual amount of people had tried to leave at the same time.

Delays were so bad that some disgruntled motorists said were forced to abandon their cars to find taxis outside, returning later in the evening to retrieve their vehicles once the jam had cleared.

One woman who said she was seven months pregnant wrote on social media that she got stuck on Level 6 of the car park for two hours.

She also posted a video of the entrance to the car park which she said showed that the road outside “was not busy or gridlocked”.

Reports said the jam started at around 2.30pm and still hadn’t been fully cleared by 4pm. St David’s said the car park was “totally clear” at 8pm.

Videos and images shared online showed a line of cars snaking around one of the levels of the 24-hour car park, which has 2,000 spaces.

None of the cars appear to be moving and drivers can be heard beeping their hours in frustration as they struggle to get out of the complex.

Cardiff resident Tony Woolway, who was one of the shoppers stuck in the jam, told Wales Online: "It was gridlock. Nothing was moving.

“We went 30 yards in two hours and we were on the sixth floor. It was just clearing when we left after three hours. People were beeping their horns and many just left their cars and headed off to get food and drink to come back later on.”

Another wrote on Twitter: “@StDavidsCardiff Can you please post when the car park situation has cleared? We’ve had to get an Uber home but need to come back in to get the car but not until it’s ok.

Replying to one person who said they got stuck, St David’s said: “Traffic outside is easing, however the council-controlled traffic lights which allow cars to pass out of the centre are only letting cars out very slowly.

“We have raised the barriers to do what we can to make it easier to exit, and have contacted the council.”

They told another: “There is heavy congestion on the road the car park exits into, which is slowing down the flow of traffic out of the car park and onto the road. The council has been made aware.”

South Wales Police said: "There is significant congestion around the Cardiff City Centre area this evening, particularly around the car parks close to the Motorpoint Arena.

“Efforts are being made to ease the congestion. Motorists are advised to allow extra time for their journeys."