Road users urged to plan journeys

Road users are urged to plan their journeys to the London 2012 Olympic Games as the final version of an online tool designed to help is released.

Transport for London (TfL) is reminding motorists to avoid driving around central London, the Olympic Route Network (ORN) and games venues from mid-July as the capital is turned into a massive sporting and cultural venue.

The reminder comes as an online tool designed to help motorists, cyclists and pedestrians plan their road journeys during the games has been updated to include LOCOG’s local parking and traffic management plans around games venues and how roads around race routes will be affected during road events. 

The Temporary Road Changes planning tool can be found at GetAheadoftheGames.com and helps motorists plan to avoid driving around the routes of road events which will take place on seven days during the Olympic Games and one day during the Paralympic Games.

Leon Daniels, TfL’s Managing Director of Surface Transport, said: “We want to make sure that road users are not caught out and plan ahead for the significant changes that the games will bring to London’s road network. 

"The details we’ve now added to the Temporary Road Changes planning tool include local parking and how traffic will be managed around venues and on Road Event competition days. This means road users can now fully plan their journeys by simply putting in a postcode and seeing exactly where and when surrounding areas will be affected.

“Roads will be exceptionally busy from mid -July and our advice is clear – avoid driving in central London and around the ORN and venues.  If a journey is  absolutely essential, plan ahead and allow extra time.”

LOCOG CEO Paul Deighton said: “The building work and final planning is well advanced in London now and central London is being transformed into a major sporting venue and the areas around the Olympic Park and other venues may soon have different parking or traffic arrangements.

"We have worked closely with TfL and local authorities to keep disruption to a minimum and there is a huge amount of information out there so people can start planning now for what we hope will be a spectacular summer.”

In order to ensure that the capital remains open for business and we can keep London moving prior to and during the games, TfL’s advice to road users is:

• From mid-July, motorists should avoid driving in central London, around the ORN and Games venues
  
  
• Motorists should also avoid the areas around the road event courses on competition days such as the Cycling Road Races on July 28 and 29, the Cycle Time Trial on August 1 and the Women’s and Men’s Marathons on August 5 and 12
  
  
• Every day of the Games is different, so if you must drive, plan ahead and allow more time
  
  
• Go to www.GetAheadoftheGames.com to find out how you can avoid the road hotspots and plan your travel during the Games.