London Latest - IOC Satisfied with Olympics Transport Plan; Major Legacy Appointment

IOC Satisfied with Olympics Transport Plan

The IOC's Olympic Games executive director Gilbert Felli tells Around the Rings that London 2012 organizers are coming to grips with the transportation challenges for the Olympics – one of the IOC's lingering concerns.

"We are more and more going forward and have a very good understanding and LOCOG have a better understanding of the client group needs and integration with the other authorities like security services," Felli told ATR at the end of a four-day IOC "project review" of London's preparations.

"We have some good solutions for transportation, so the athletes can get to the training [and competition] venues and on spectator access," he added.

Felli and the IOC's 2012 Coordination Commission chairman Denis Oswald have long regarded transport as London's most challenging issue.

Felli's comments come amid growing fears about traffic congestion during the Games, caused by an increased influx of visitors to London and the thousands of athletes, officials, sponsors and VIPs using specially designated "Games Lanes" during the Olympics.

Transport for London and London 2012 chiefs this week announced they would be opening the "Games Lanes", which make up a third of the 109-mile Olympic Route Network, during off-peak times.

London mayor Boris Johnson launched a "Get Ahead of the Games" campaign on Monday, offering advice to the public on planning journeys during the period of the Olympics and Paralympics.

Commenting on security, the IOC's other major concern around the London Games, Felli said he was impressed with the exercises taking place and the cooperation among different security agencies on the risks "and how to alleviate them".

The British government and London's Metropolitan Police have told the IOC they have worked to prepare for any eventuality this summer.

Around 13,500 military personnel will beef up security during the Games. An estimated 23,700 security guards will be recruited to protect the venues and, on the busiest days, up to 9,000 police officers will be used for Games-related operations.

Felli described the IOC's visit to London as an "excellent week".

"Preparations are on pace. We know that the last percentage is in operations and they [LOCOG] are working well on it," he said. "Technically and operationally speaking, we see it going in the right direction."

Much of the IOC inspection was spent touring five of the six Olympic football venues spread around the U.K., including Manchester United's Old Trafford and Cardiff's Millennium Stadium where the IOC delegation wrapped up its visit Thursday.

Felli said he was impressed with facilities at the football stadia and cities as well as organizers' plans to welcome athletes and the Olympic Family. "They all have their own personality," he said.

The Swiss said the U.K.-wide tour that also took IOC officials to Coventry, Newcastle and Glasgow showed inspectors that Britain was embracing the Games.

"What was important was the dedication of the different regions to the [Olympic] project, not only for football but to the whole of the Games and the different schemes put in place to support the Olympics," he added.

At the start of this week's evaluation, the IOC officials reviewed the logistics of staging the opening ceremony, including how 2012 organizers will manage the different groups of people attending from athletes to spectators and VIPs. Felli noted satisfaction with the plan.

London 2012's next inspection comes March 28 to 30 with the arrival of the full IOC Coordination Commission led by Oswald.

BAM Nuttall to "Clear, Connect, Complete" Olympic Park

The Olympic Park Legacy Company hasappointed BAM Nuttall to help deliver one of the largest construction projects in Europe – creating the post-Games Queen Elizabeth OlympicPark.

After the Olympics, the OPLC is charged with redeveloping the hub of Olympic sport into a vibrant new London community.

The "Clear, Connect, Complete" phase will be funded out of the $462 million already set aside in the goverment's Olympic budget. BAM Nuttall is responsible for removing Games-time overlay including temporary venues, walkways and roads, connecting the park with new roads, cycle and pedestrian paths and completing permanent venues, bridges and parklands for legacy use.

Temporary venues set to be dismantled include the basketball and water polo arenas.

Part of the works schedule will be conversion of the press and broadcast center site by removing the catering village and gantry to prepare for incoming tenants.

A velopark is also to be developed including the addition of a 1.6km outdoor cycle circuit, a 6.5km mountain bike trail, revamp of the BMX circuit and internal work to the Olympic velodrome.

BAM Nuttall has won two separate contracts to deliver $111 million worth of the work in the north and south areas of the Olympic site. Construction work is expected to take up to 18 months, but the phased work will allow sections of the park to be opened 10 months after the Paralympics finish.

"BAM Nuttall worked on the original Olympic Park and their hands-on knowledge will be invaluable in helping us to achieve our target of reopening the park in phases from July 2013," said legacy company CEO Andrew Altman.

"This will be a huge achievement given the scale of construction work that is needed and another example of how legacy plans for the park are more advanced than any previous host Olympic city."

The legacy company said separate contracts will be announced for redevelopment of other venues and areas such as the main stadium and aquatics center.

Culture Secretary Wants Tourism Boost from Olympics

Businesses in London were urged Thursday to make the most of the country hosting the Olympics by Britain's culture and Olympics secretary Jeremy Hunt.

Addressing more than 200 hoteliers, businesses and tourism bodies from across the capital, Hunt urged city tourism firms to sign up to a new 20.12 percent discount scheme, which goes live to the public next month.

VisitEngland also confirmed Thursday that hotel group De Vere has signed up as a partner to the scheme, joining backers including Travelodge, Best Western, Hoseasons Group and The Eden Project.

"It's now or never for London tourism," Hunt said.

"We will never have a year like 2012 to show the world that this is, quite simply, the most exciting, vibrant, cosmopolitan city on the planet.

"The inevitable moans and groans in the run-up to an Olympics must not cloud the scale of the opportunity – including our biggestever tourism marketing campaign to make sure we get a lasting benefit from being in the global spotlight."

Black Cabs Plan Rejected

Transport for London has rejected a request by London's black cab drivers to increase fares by 22 percent during the Olympics.

TfL dismissed the proposal by the Licensed Taxi Drivers Association, which had called for the premium evening rate to be charged in the daytime.

Reacting to the news, the LTDA said the decision could lead to less black cabs on the roads this summer as around 40 percent of its drivers have indicated they would take holiday during the Games.

But Tfl has given the green light for a taxi fare increase of 5.3 percent for this year, a move aimed at incentivising taxi drivers during the Games period.

London's stretched public transport network remains one of the IOC's chief concerns for the Olympics.

Reported by Mark Bisson

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