91Èȱ¬

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This was always going to be one of the huge problems of the games. London as a city is not designed for this. I foresee massive issues come summer next year.

This article is so typical of the egocentric media. At most olympics, with the exception of Beijing, the paying public always face transport delays and very long commuting times. Barcelona was heralded as a huge success by the media as they were not subjected to daily commutes of upto 2 hours on over crowded trains.Yes the Barcelona games were great from a sporting perspective, but you were lucky if you got 4 hours sleep a night. In Atlanta, thankfully, the media were also subject to delays. All subsequent games have ensured the Media would get an almost VIP transport treatment.

What a selfish, narrow-minded piece of journalism. Just as long as the sports media is all right, eh? "Giving residents time to get used to it"? - how very generous of you. I suppose the huge amount of UK GDP that would be lost through closing traffic routes for a week or more before the Games, all at the expense of the London taxpayers who have actually funded them in the first place (and can't even get tickets), would be of no material consequence for the media to consider reporting. (What are the headlines in all the newspapers this morning?). Like another poster, I was in Atlanta, and the reports about delays and poor organisation were basically a myth, whipped up by a media intent on enforcing their "right" to red carpet treatment.

In Sydney Australia when they hosted the Olympics the Government was very excited and provided many plans for travel success. But one of the key reasons for the successful Olympics was the Sydney Aussies being smart enough to get of of dodge so they skipped town for 2 weeks up the goldy coasty and went fishaling.
I would suggest we all do the same. Scotland here I come to avoid the Olympic stress of 2012 which will be more akin to Atlanta Olympics on steroids!!! Sorry taxi bus and courier drivers - better start selling food/drink on board cos your customers will better off walking.

"That won't be good for the image of London and the Games"

Who on earth cares? Except solipsistic journalists, of course.

Are you seriously arguing that the preposterous inconvenience - and loss of business - Londoners are already doomed to should be made worse to pander the whims of the media? The very people, you might remember, responsible for the absurd closure of Russell Square from early July so it can be turned into a VIP coach park for journalists too lazy to use the tube like everyone else?

With warnings from almost everyone, from tour operators to theatre owners, of the damage these Games are doing to London's real economy, only someone as insulated from the real world as a 91Èȱ¬ journalist could seriously argue for closing London's road system even a second earlier than is absolutely essential.

The gamble we'll all regret is the decision to allow Soviet-style privilege for bureaucrats at all. The "image" a few headlines about traffic jams might create matters a great deal less than the reality of modern London modelling its traffic management on Brezhnev-era Moscow.

So we build an athelete's village ajoining the stadium and have numerous quality hotels around Canary Wharf but still require car lanes for the hangers on. If the 'VIP's' need to stay in Park Lane why don't we coach them down to the Thames and use river transport? I will be one of the many Londoners leaving the country for the period. Thanks Lord Coe and Tessa Jowell, I hope your ego's are well and truly satisfied.

Why don't these people just leave slightly earlier so that they aren't late. There, all sorted.

your reports are usually very good, but i think you are scaremongering this time adrian...

Olympic planners and the British Government should NEVER have agreed to letting the IOC stay in Mayfair area & this would not be a problem. Why should the British Taxpayer pay for IOC junkets? So much corruption & looking after those at the top of the food chain - what the Olympics should really be about has been forgotten.

It stinks.

Seems that the early posters think that holding the Olympics in London is a really good idea??
Olympics for the masses, forget it, it's for those with access to the hospitality tent.

I remember thinking in 2005 how on earth will London cope with the increase in travel, now we have the answer. The people of London will have to put up with it.
Who exactly decided we wanted these games ?
No one asked me, otherwise I would have told them let Paris have them.

I do not agree with your view, most of the London economy is unlikely to benefit from this event in any way. Traffic should be kept moving for as long as possible before the circus comes to town.

A lot of the congestion could have been avoided if the press and IOC stayed away from central London.

As we have all bought your ticket Adrian I hope that you do your bit and use the tube, queuing up for half an hour like the rest of us. Unlikely I think.

We were never asked. George Stroud must be spinning in his grave - a stadium on the site of his pig farm?

This beyond a joke. These wretched games are costing us a fortune at a time when the country can ill afford it and now we learn that it will cost us even more in delays for those of trying to earn a living. The Olympic organising crowd refuse to answer questions (private company, guv, not subject to FOI inquiries) - how very convenient in keeping the real costs secret from the people paying! The whole thing is a farce and the sooner it disappears the better. Oh, and a small bet, it will cost much, much more than the budget but Seb and his friends will be elevated to be part of the royal family as a reward.

Mr Warner.
As London taxpayers, we were told these games were about legacy and sustainability.
As a public servant, salary paid by my license fee, please ask LOCOG about the thousands of Olympic Park temporary toilets that are scheduled to go to landfill post games, the business connections of Lord Coe and one of his closest friends regarding corporate ticket packages and the actual cost to London businesses of the traffic disruption.
Your coverage thus far has been so sychophantically pro London 2012 as to appear that you have a personal vested interest. I'm sure this cannot be the case and you have a few months left now to behave as a true investigative journalist rather than an apparent LOCOG press relaese announcer....

Thanks and Regards,
Concerned Viewer.

Is it possible that Locog, TfL and the IOC just want us all to go away and leave them with the keys to this city? I'm sure they just want somewhere to play their Games!

So, with that in mind, maybe it is time that we did something like the Ancient Greeks did when they held the original Olympics at Olympus, and dedicate six permanent sites - three in each of the Northern and Southern hemispheres, and one in each hemisphere for the Summer, Winter and Paralympic Games. The Games could then alternate between the Southern and Northern sites every four years.

Then share the costs amongst the participating nations. Maybe then we will all be able to get the games in perspective.

Thank you Adrian for posting your concerns, lets hope someone listens. Whether we like them or not the Olympics are coming and we need to ensure we get the most out of them. To highlight London as a great place for leisure and business with good transport links and excellant facilities is surely the aim? Do I hear groans and disagreement? Well if I do, what do you want our city to be?

Be assured that if something goes wrong over the Olympic period the world will know about it and never forget. I live in fear of "Due to a signaling problem at Stratford the final of the mens 100 metres has been delayed". We should do all we can to make sure this opportunity gets us maximum benefits.

In response to Mike, yes I do think London hosting the games is a really good idea. I also think we will put on a very good games for the purists and general public. I dont care if the media are inconvenienced a week before the games, as long as it runs smoothly during the games.

Very few people care about actual supporters, yet if they didn't turn up at these games, " Empty Stadia" becomes the headline.

On the contrary - let the hacks & hangers on suffer before the games so they appreciate the privilege they're receiving during the games. Plus, put the restrictions in place when there's nothing to show for it & you might find the 99.999% getting organized and occupying the streets in protest.

Mr Warner.

Thanks for your response.
Given the privileged access that you have to all the relevant 'movers and shakers', (no doubt hard earned after covering all those 12 Games), do you intend to address any of the questions that I've posed above, on behalf of the tax and/or license fee payer? (I have many others)!
It's been a rare evening in the past 5 years when I've missed the 91Èȱ¬ London evening news, so, please feel free to forward to me, and/or provide links via this medium, deatails of any instances where you have thoroughly investigated and reported any relevant issues that must have escaped my notice.
Also please be aware that I am closely familiar with and aware of editorial policy and control at the local studios of the corporation, so please don't take this correspondence too personally. Rather, please share this with senior colleagues.

Hoping to hear from you soon, whilst acknowledging that you'll be busy delivering quality first...

Regards,
Daveydill.

Lets all hope everything works out fine.