Hammersmith & Fulham Council is warning residents to be prepared for the Olympics - and the disruption they will cause.

The council says H&F is hosting the volleyball at Earls Court as well as part of the cycling road races. At certain times, it will be exceptionally busy and there will be delays on local roads.

By planning ahead through the tools and information available at Get Ahead of the Games residents can avoid the travel hotspots at the busiest times.

Residents should be particularly aware that the cycling road races, to be held on the first weekend of the Games, will have a major impact. There will be significant disruption to Fulham on the weekend of July 28-29, when Fulham Road, Fulham High Street and Putney Bridge will be closed to traffic for the vast majority of the weekend.

On July 28, road closures in the borough will begin at 3am with roads reopening after the race, as soon as it is safe to do so.

On July 29, roads will be closed from 5am and will reopen as soon as possible. Last year’s trial event, which followed exactly the same route, disrupted thousands of journeys. Those motorists who were either not aware or did not plan ahead suffered long delays.

Volleyball will be taking place at Earls Court throughout the duration of the Games and this will also lead to major network disruption.

In particular, Lillie Road will be closed eastbound to non-authorised vehicles from 6am until midnight between North End Road and Ongar Road (July 25 – Aug 12).

Cllr Greg Smith, H&F Council deputy leader, said: " We are enormously proud to be a host Olympic borough and want to play our part in hosting a great London 2012 Games. But we also want our residents to be prepared and to plan ahead so they can avoid delays and disruption.

" In particular, we are hugely concerned about traffic jams on the weekend of July 28-29. Fulham will be exceptionally busy and there will be a number of major simultaneous road closures to accommodate the Olympic road races and the volleyball competition.

" Our advice is that residents should plan ahead and either enjoy the cycling from the roadside or watch it unfold on television at home. Many residents are already planning on leaving the borough for that weekend."

H&F Council says it has been working closely with LOCOG and Transport for London (TfL) on how they can minimise disruption and detailed information has been sent to all residents in high-impact areas
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The A40 and A4 have also been included in a network of routes that will be used to transport athletes and officials to and from venues during the Olympics. This could mean that general traffic may experience queuing delays. Further details below.

The council is conducting a full review of how its services will be affected during Games time. Plans are being devised to minimise the impact on local residents. Early indications are that the vast majority of services will run as normal, although the response times for services such as housing repairs could be delayed due to an increase in congestion in the borough due to Games activities and traffic restrictions.

TfL advise that you leave more time for your bus journeys and plan in advance to understand how your whole journey may be affected. Nearer the time information will be available at affected bus stops.

To keep up with news of travel disruption, check the council's London 2012 Olympics in Hammersmith and Fulham.

You can also follow the council on Twitter @LBHF and Get Ahead of the Games @GAOTG and sign up for personalised TfL transport alerts.

 

June 22, 2012