Today I have been at one of the training sessions for our 3500 Travel Ambassadors who shortly will be deployed all over London. These are managerial and office staff from TfL who are joining some 8000 people helping deliver a successful Olympic Games by working on the front line. An exciting time for everyone involved. Today they were all excited about the challenge going forward. We are hugely grateful to them for their hard work and enthusiasm.
It is all happening now. Athletes and media are now arriving. Fortunately the M4 reopened this morning. The media didn't quite grasp the need for the motorway is actually now - not in two weeks' time. People are arriving and the good folk at the Highways Agency have delivered what is needed.
Now we continue to change the way in which London's traffic works. The normal summer reduction in traffic is being supplemented by our Travel Demand Management which has worked for many months to discourage usage now. Many businesses are, as a result, "Games Ready". Undertakers, Stem Cell transporters, The Army and the Evening Standard have all become so.
But let's be clear. With all the people coming here this month life in London will change. We are building Olympic venues, changing the road layout, and all ready to host the biggest cultural and sporting event of our lifetime.
Plan ahead has always been out watchword - make sure you see GetAheadoftheGames.com where everything you could possible want to know is available in granular detail, including journey planners for spectators, public transport users, and freight.
Everyone is now working hard to deliver a great Games and keep London moving. I will try and keep something of a diary going here....
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Fond memories of a very successful Commonwealth Games in Manchester, 10 years ago. Good luck to everyone involved.
ReplyDelete"Now we continue to change the way in which London's traffic works. The normal summer reduction in traffic is being supplemented by our Travel Demand Management which has worked for many months to discourage usage now."
ReplyDeleteWell that part of the plan worked well; London looks like a ghost town! Lucky those new buses are advertising theatre shows, they'll need all the help they can get. After all, most of the theatres are either closed or almost empty.
Blowing your own trumpet is not a good idea, especially when you have caused so much unnecessary hardship.