London 2012: Olympic Route Network to stop operation this week

Sarah Shaffi, Olympics editor (news) Monday, August 13, 2012
9:04 AM

The Olympic Route Network (ORN) ends operation at midnight tomorrow when the majority of athletes, officials and media have left London.

The 109-mile ORN, which includes 30 miles of Games Lanes for the exclusive use of the Games family, will be taken out of use overnight.

This will include the lifting of stopping and parking restrictions, and bus lanes and loading bays will also be brought back into use.

Although the lanes will be back in use, white road markings and all physical markings will take a little longer to remove, and will be cleared by Thursday morning.

Transport for London (TfL) said that throughout the Olympic Games only around 40 per cent of Games Lanes were in operation at any one time.

By August 7 10 per cent of Games Lanes had already been decommissioned on the ORN routes serving Wimbledon, Lords and the Royal Artillery Barracks following the end of events at those venues.

Yesterday the Games Lanes on the A40, A406 North Circular and A12 were decommissioned.

The London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) has also started to decommission closed competition venues.

These works, such as at Horse Guards Parade, are continuing. The associated local area traffic management and security arrangements will be removed from this week onwards.

Plans for the operation of the Paralympic Route Network (PRN) have also been set out. It is focused on the east of London and will come into operation at 6am on Wednesday, August 29, the day the Paralympic Games begin.

The PRN will have 8.7 miles of Games Lanes on the routes between the City of London, where the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) will be based, the Olympic Park and other venues, including ExCeL, the North Greenwich Arena, Greenwich Park and Royal Artillery Barracks.

It will end operation at midnight on September 10.

Peter Hendy, London’s Transport Commissioner, said: “The ORN has served its purpose helping us to deliver a great Olympic Games and keep London moving. It will be removed as soon as the majority of athletes, officials and media have left the city. As we promised, Games Lanes were operated flexibly throughout the Games with only around 40 per cent in operation at any one time.

“The PRN is much smaller and focused on the east of London. Our advice to motorists is to avoid driving around the PRN routes and venues, particularly the Olympic Park in Stratford and on the north and south approach roads to the Blackwall Tunnel.

“Please continue to plan ahead at GetAheadoftheGames.com and allow extra time for your journeys when necessary.”