Olympic Planners have just ten months left to prepare for an anticipated 15 million trips a day during the event in an already congested city. So far, about 6.5 billion pounds ($10.2 billion) has been invested.
Recalling the 1996 Atlanta Games, "with bus drivers getting lost, athletes arriving moments before their events and overloaded trains that couldn't get residents home," the improvements were prompted by the International Olympic Committee's demands to prevent such issues from coming up again.
"Among the biggest problems are the streets themselves - laid out as they are in a pattern relatively unchanged since medieval times. That means only a handful of thoroughfares, and even those are nothing like the great boulevards that bisect cities like New York and Paris. Earmarking some lanes for Olympic traffic could cause disruption - because they are the main ones."
FULL STORY: London Olympic planners work to avoid transport chaos at games, recalling Atlanta debacle
Abandoned Olympic Venues Cast Doubt on the Value of Hosting
Though cities hope for an economic boost, these photos show it's far from guaranteed.
The London Subway Is Bad for Commuters' Lungs
A new study from the University of Surrey produced counterintuitive results about the relative pollution levels of commuters around London.
For Host Cities, Olympic Legacies Are Mixed
The two-week competition is often touted as a galvanizing force for urban development. But that's only cities include the Games' legacy in their planning process from the start.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
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Missouri Governor Reverses Anti-Discrimination Housing Policies
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USDOT Launches Unfunded 'SAFE ROADS' Program
The program targets “distractions” and “political messages or artwork,” and paves the way for autonomous vehicles.
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This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
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