Transport questions that just won't go away
When London was bidding for the Games, opponents of the bid,and sometimes supporters of Paris, would often walk up to me and say: "You know, the Games won't work in London because the city won't be able to cope with the transport. It's often a problem WITHOUT the Games."
They had a fair point. It is the biggest challenge of every Games to transport hundreds of thousands of spectators, officials and competitors around the city every day.
In some ways chiefs have had an easy ride so far on transportation. Their tactic has been to tell us that the fast "javelin" trains to the from will solve most of the problems.
Those of us who travel from west London to the Olympic Park in east London regularly know that it is going to be a lot harder than that.
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Will this all be solved by the Games? Officials say they hope so with a new development. But what is interesting is that it is the renovated bit of the station where there are problems at the moment.
I have my doubts whether King's Cross and can cope with the large number of people using the station and underground in 2012. We may have the sad sight of people with tickets struggling to get to the Games.
The other big problem with transport involves all of the officials and VIPS heading from Hyde Park hotels to the main Olympic Park. Will Olympic lanes really work on London's narrow streets and along a key route like the Embankment? I have my doubts and so do the people who know the streets better than most, .
So, I was not surprised when I got hold of a special report from Scotland Yard this week, saying the police do NOT support the current plans for an .
are worried about the response times of emergency vehicles. So is the London Ambulance Service. And they don't think the has done enough work on the detail of the special lanes for Olympic vehicles.
From now on, 2012 are going to have to start answering transport questions in a lot more detail. The spin won't work anymore when the capital's police force is unhappy.
I'm 91Èȱ¬ London's Olympics Correspondent, which means I report on every aspect of the preparations for 2012. I'm going to be telling you what people are saying about London's preparations - both in the Olympic corridors of power and on the streets of the capital - and I want to hear your views.
Comment number 1.
At 24th Sep 2009, Graham Newsom wrote:Adrian,
I think we need a fleet of speedboats ferrying spectators up and down the river - never much congestion their nowadays!
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Comment number 2.
At 24th Sep 2009, gdodds wrote:I agree with the river idea, the River should be used to ferry spectators up and down, it will relieve the roads and Trains/Tubes.
Sure the transport network will be busier, but thats to be expected.
And the Paris supporters comment is wrong, the Parisien network is worse than London's. The Metro would struggle, the RER is a good idea, but train layout (double decker) doesn't work in congestion, and the roads are often narrower so an "Olympic Lanes" wouldn't have worked there either.
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Comment number 3.
At 24th Sep 2009, julianplume wrote:Olympic Lanes exist to get IOC top brass to and from their West End hotels. 2012 is supposed to be the Games that don't harm the planet. Tell the IOC to use the tube like the rest of us. Princess Anne will persuade them!
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Comment number 4.
At 25th Sep 2009, Adrian Warner wrote:Very interesting views on the river (in both senses of that sentence!) I agree that one of the best ways of seeing London is by boat and I can't think of a better way of going to the 02 to watch the gymnastics than on a ferry. In fact I'm planning to buy tickets for my family for next month's world gymnastics champs at the 02 and take the boat there.
But the problem is that 2012 have been struggling to persuade ferry operators to set up these new routes because some firms are worried they won't be able to make them profitable afterwards. They have a point. Maybe it needs Government and City money to be bold with ferry services and use the Games to get more people on to boats. Boris Johnson is a fan of ferries.
There is also a strong argument that sponsors and the IOC should be housed closer to the Olympic Park. But the idea of the IOC taking public transport is complex. Many can't because of the security implications, especially those from royal families and those who need bodyguards because they face serious threats.
But not everybody in the Olympic family has these issues. And why can't they set the tone for future Games by taking public transport -- or even a bike -- when they can?
Wouldn't it be a brilliant PR coup for a blue chip sponsor like McDonalds or Coke to get their executives being green and healthy? How about a bike supplier providing a set of top-class bikes for fit IOC members? They keep telling us how important it is to have ex athletes in the IOC. The problem, often, is that Olympic figures love to talk about Green Games but you don't see much evidence of them turning the words into action.
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Comment number 5.
At 29th Sep 2009, jonasheros wrote:"There is also a strong argument that sponsors and the IOC should be housed closer to the Olympic Park. But the idea of the IOC taking public transport is complex. Many can't because of the security implications, especially those from royal families and those who need bodyguards because they face serious threats.
But not everybody in the Olympic family has these issues. And why can't they set the tone for future Games by taking public transport -- or even a bike -- when they can?
Wouldn't it be a brilliant PR coup for a blue chip sponsor like McDonalds or Coke to get their executives being green and healthy? How about a bike supplier providing a set of top-class bikes for fit IOC members? They keep telling us how important it is to have ex athletes in the IOC. The problem, often, is that Olympic figures love to talk about Green Games but you don't see much evidence of them turning the words into action"
Brilliant idea Adrian but as far as I know the IOC and all sponsors will be housed in the west end so taking a bike is out of the question, not even hardened cyclists in London would cycle across London, let alone in groups of 300 (yes that is the number per sponsor). There are very few hotels close to the park and all of those will accommodate the Broadcasters and I'm sure many of them will take public transport.
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Comment number 6.
At 10th Oct 2009, ayush2k wrote:i was a regular at kings cross, are u referring to the congestion from 8:15 to 8:35? The only times the gates shut...Surely accommodations can be made to avoid this period.
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