2012 London Olympics problems : cycling and the triathalon will cause traffic issues
The biggest sporting competition will be held in London in two years time; the Olympic Games. This is causing some major headaches for the organisers because London is a highly congested city to begin with. By adding into the mix a million spectators on top of an already crowded city; there is the potential for disaster. This will be especially acutely felt in trying to control traffic flows around the games.
Some events during the Olympic Games will need to have some very busy roads closed off for them. Two sports especially; cycling and the triathalon will cause the organisers some major issues because both these events will take place on busy public roads. The organisers are trying to fiddle with the scheduling to try and get both of these events to fall on weekends when the roads will be less busy and can potentially be closed for the duration of the races. The problem is that other sports are being held on the weekend and the organisers will have to hold meetings to see if they can rearrange some events.
The government is also getting in on the act to try to make sure the whole event runs smoothly and without a hitch. A report commissioned by the government found some problems with the transport system as it stands at the moment. They found problems with the rail system being able to cope with such a huge number of increased passengers. Also the authors of the study found that a proper infrastructure was not in place for the provision of disabled passengers on the transport system. They also say that the rivers and canals that are near the Olympic sites should be utilised for transportation purposes. Finally they found a lack of cooperation between all those involved in the transport sector in the preparation for the Olympics. Even though the report is four years old, just how many of these suggestions have been implemented and how many of the issues have been resolved.
London is seeing a massive overhaul of its transport system in the wake of these Games. Major redesigns are proposed to help decongest traffic issues and ensure the smooth running of the Games. London's Underground is getting a major facelift with the East London Line being expanded and the North London Line is getting an upgrade, while the Docklands Light Railway is also getting a much needed upgrade. Organisers have also tried to make almost all of the athletes training facilities half an hour away at the most from their housing facilities. It seems the upgrades by the organisers are in full swing at the moment but it will have to be seen whether they are successful in all their plans.
People fear that the 2012 Olympics in London could witness the same types of things that were witnessed at the Winter Olympics that took place in Vancouver. The Winter Olympics was estimated to have been overspent its budget by £2.4 billion, the security that was employed was said to treat people very roughly with some people said they lost some of their civil liberties and the entire event experienced traffic chaos. Mini riots were even seen and handled by riot police. The fear for the organisers is that these types of problems do not take place in London because even small issues can turn into major ones in a place like London.
A radical measure has also been proposed to reduce congestion on London's roads. Basically the plan is to turn off over one thousand traffic lights in the city and build pedestrian bridges over busy roads in order to deal with the extra cars and people visiting the city for the Games. If the organisers can actually make this happen then they might be able to reduce congestion but it will not be easy to turn off one thousand traffic lights.
The Olympic Games in London is going to be a great event but the organisers will have to get their act together when it comes to transport issues and other problems that they could face. Hopefully it will all be sorted out in time and these Games will be remembered for many years to come.
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