It is a recognisable site to many, the long and arduous queue along Park Place on a Wednesday night.
Ending at the steps of the Students’ Union, this iconic Cardiff site, with its dressed-up drunks and weather-beaten victims is about to change.
The Union announced today that beginning this week, YOLO-goers will now have to queue on the other side of the building, along Senghennydd Road and (if long enough) across the railway bridge by the ASSL and down alley behind Park Place.
On social media, the Union said that “there will be no access over the Cathays train bridge”.
Although this presumably means that you won’t be able to enter the queue from there, rather than it being actually closed, since the bridge belongs to Transport for Wales.
When Gair Rhydd asked the SU why these changes had taken place a spokesperson said “Because of its popularity, the queue is something students often talk about, and we are always looking at ways to improve the arrival experience.
“The change this week is part of a short trial that we have introduced to test whether a slightly different queue layout could further improve how students enter the venue.
Gair Rhydd asked if these changes had been as a result of pressure from Cardiff council, to which we were told “The trial was not prompted by any external concerns but reflects our ongoing approach of regularly reviewing how large events operate and looking for ways to improve the student experience.”
Although they added that “we work closely with Cardiff University and other relevant stakeholders where appropriate.”
The changes come after growing complaints about the YOLO queue in the last few years.
Back in October we asked Maria Pollard, President of the Students’ Union if the union was trying to sort the queue problem, to which she told us that “by God, they are trying! Effort is being made — oh, my God, is effort being made.”
Effort clearly is being made, but this is however not a permanent solution to the problem, and the spokesperson told Gair Rhydd that “We will review how the arrangement works over the next couple of weeks before deciding whether to continue with it, make further adjustments or return to the previous queueing method”.
Thus it may not be the end of the queuing nightmare for Cardiff students, and it remains to be seen of the changes will make the queue safer and more endurable for the many students attending each week, or if it will encourage more students to come who have been put off by the queue in the past.
Image credit: Owaindyfed via Wikimedia Commons