He who pays the piper gets ****ed over

I see that the new Zil lanes for the 2012 Olympics are to be enforced by £200 fines for transgressors. Yes Londoners who are, and will for years, paying the lions share of the 2012 London Olympics costs will be banned from using parts of London's already over-crowded roads. The Olympic lanes will cross some of the most congested areas of London and are aimed at facilitating the speedy movement of athletes, International Olympic Committee members, Olympic sponsors and the media. Included roads are the main arterial road from Central London to Docklands and the heavily used Embankment. The restrictions will apply from 6am to midnight every day of the Games and on a smaller scale during the Paralympics. 6am to midnight, so that'll be easy to work around! We are also told that there are also venue specific routes on which restrictions will ONLY during the days of competition relating to those venues and then ONLY between 7am and 4pm or 7am and 7pm.

The special lanes will total nearly 60 miles and the extra restrictions such as closing side roads, banning turns and altering traffic light sequences, will comprise more than 100 miles in London and around 170 miles outside London.

John Armitt, chairman of the Olympic Delivery Association, who I have a feeling has a misplaced sense of priorities, said:

"We have been working closely with our partners to take our operational planning to the next level and will continue to consult with Londoners on the plans.

Where Games Lanes are required there will inevitably be some temporary disruption to everyday life, but we must give athletes the best chance to train and compete effectively. That means ensuring they get to their events on time and minimising the time they spend travelling."

What about the people paying for the event and needing to get to work? Do we get three weeks paid holiday? No we don't so we have to work and we need to travel. There are going to be a lot of very angry Londoners in two years time.

Apparently

"These plans strike an appropriate balance between the demands of hosting this unique event and the day-to-day needs of residents and businesses."

I see no evidence for this 'balance'.


You can see the map of the affected roads here.