With the Olympics fast approaching, longstanding concerns over London’s ability to handle the influx of traffic gridlock still aren’t dying down.
But, according to the Daily Mail, the city’s Olympic organizers were able to overcome the congestion hurdle during the bid review process by tricking International Olympic Committee delegates.
London officials created the illusion that traffic would not be an issue by equipping the delegates’ cars with GPS transmitters that would initiate green lights whenever their convoy approached intersections.
“We had to demonstrate that we were competent, that we knew what we were doing and that our plans for London would work,” Sir Keith Mills, deputy chairman of London’s Olympic committee, said.
But! Transport experts believe that there will actually be less traffic during the Games compared to an ordinary summer. Reasons being that they anticipate congestion fears will cause more regular visitors to keep clear of the city than the number of tourists coming in for the Olympics.
So it looks like London organizers should have just deferred to the experts rather than, um, well, cheating.
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Photo credit: Andrew Weber-US PRESSWIRE
