Experience from other Host Cities shows people often adopt a 'wait and see' approach over the first few days of the Games and attempt to carry on working and travelling as normal.
With road and public transport networks expected to be exceptionally busy, TfL advised businesses and the travelling public to plan ahead using all the tools, tips and information available at GetAheadoftheGames.com.
Although the Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games is still two weeks away on Friday, 27 July, large numbers of athletes, officials and the world's media will begin to arrive in London from this weekend (14/15 July). This will lead to a significant increase in the number of vehicles on the roads in central London, around the Olympic Route Network (ORN) and Games venues. TfL repeated its advice to motorists to avoid driving in these areas from mid-July.
The Olympic Torch Relay will also start its week-long journey through every one of London's 33 boroughs on Saturday 21 July. Experience from around the UK shows that very large and enthusiastic crowds will welcome the Torch as it travels through the capital. TfL today published animated maps for each day of the Olympic Torch Relay in London, which highlight the impact on the capital's road and public transport network. Available at GetAheadoftheGames.com, the animated maps are designed to help businesses and Londoners understand and, if necessary, avoid the likely areas of disruption.
In addition, TfL and London 2012 today published a series of 2012 'Transport Factsheets' which provide a summary of predicted road and public transport conditions for each day of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, with detailed travel advice for both spectators and regular travellers.
The detailed Factsheets are being made available to businesses, stakeholders and the media to aid their travel planning and will be updated, based on experience, on each day of the Games (see Notes to Editors). A shorter, more consumer-focused version of the fact sheets - 'Daily Travel Bulletins' - designed for use by the travelling public are now available on the GetAheadoftheGames website. These will also be updated throughout the Games.
Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, said: "The Opening Ceremony is just around the corner, the Olympic flame will soon pass through every London borough, and we are poised and ready to welcome the world to our great city. So as the excitement builds, and visitors pour in, it is vital that every one of us takes the time to plan our Games-time journeys in advance, and avoid busy hotspots, by visiting GetAheadoftheGames.com."
TfL has already started painting the white lines and Olympic Rings that mark out the Games lanes along the ORN, although they will not be operational until 25 July. Work to adjust the 1,300 traffic signals along the route has also begun and a ban on all planned roadworks on London's A and B roads, which started on 1 July, will run until 9 September. On Monday 16 July, the M4 Games Lane will be brought into operation, to assist the arrival of the athletes, officials and the world's media.
