The transport select committee has criticised the Olympic Development Authority for working on ‘highly-speculative’ assumptions regarding road congestion levels during the 2012 games, and for paying little attention to park-and-ride and the transport legacy issue. The ODA assumes background traffic in London during the Olympics will decline by around 8%, due to the summer holidays, and by a further 8% as people leave the city because of the games. The committee had previously found that a 15% reduction in road traffic was the minimum requirement to avoid congestion during the games.
The committee report said: ‘We believe assumptions about the number of Londoners choosing to leave the city during the Olympics pose a significant risk to the Transport Plan. ‘The Olympic Transport Strategy must be robust enough to cope with the Olympic traffic.’ The ODA also came under fire for providing ‘little evidence that any effort has been put in to’ park-and-ride, despite referring to it as part of the transport strategy. ‘Minimising the number of cars entering London is consistent with the stated aim of creating an environmentally-sustainable games,’ the committee said in its report on the ODA’s draft transport plan.
‘We would like to see more details of how park-and-ride schemes can contribute.’ Regarding an Olympic legacy, the committee said it was concerned that the ODA appeared not to have attached ‘a high degree of importance’ to the issue. ‘Also, given the emphasis on walking and cycling as a key mode of transport for the games, it is surprising that the projected legacy in this area can only be described as modest’. The committee also calls for a clear strategy for using London’s waterways to transport spectators and staff during the Games. Transport for the London 2012 Olympic and Paraolympic Games: The draft transport plan : http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm/cmtran.htm

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