To be totally dreading the Olympics because I live in London

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I just am! Yesterday, I went to London Bridge to get to work and there was a practice for the Olympics and the whole station was in chaos and it was really shambolic. Last week I went to St James Park and most of it and the Mall was closed. It's going to add ages on to my journey. We have been told to cycle to work if we can but the bus lanes are to be closed so the VIP cars can use them and as i am sure anyone who cycles in central London will agree, this is going to cause lots of problems. Am sure the games themselves will be brilliant but it's the trying to get about in London bit I am dreading.

It's going to be awful. The Olympic lanes on the road aren't the bus lanes. They are normal lanes. So Marylebone Rd for example will have an Olympic Lane, a bus lane and ONE normal lane.

I think we Londoners are totally shafted. More council tax, all the disruption and no more chance of getting tickets than anyone else.

Sadly the Olympics is a big corporate con and money fest.

I went to Westfield (white city) today and drove along the A40. There are now olympic/bus lanes marked, which all traffic can currently use. The signs suggest that they will be in use from the 15th, ie next Sunday, before the games start. If that's the case, there will be a couple of weeks before the games where normal traffic can't use the lanes. I predict gridlock! Coming home at 4.30pm it was barely moving as it was, and that was with normal traffic using the olympic lane.

Yeah, I went to Westfield Stratford on Saturday and noticed the Olympic lanes. I hate to be a neg-head but I predict that it will be the most enormous pain in the arsehole. All of it.

But I am a grump. My mate asked if I would be going to Victoria Park (5 mins walk from my flat) to watch the opening ceremony on a giant screen. I laughed in her face (what a cow) - why the jeff would I go and sit in a rainy field, when I could watch the same thing on my own TV and within easy reach of a toilet an and a fridge kettle?

frillyflower - I noticed going downPark Lane on the bus that the bus lane is now an olympic lane, the next lane is olympic and bus lane and I assume the 3rd lane will effectly be a car park!

Also nr Weymouth ish - has been hell with road improvements in the last 5 months .

The official drivers have a microchip in their car yes that changes the traffic lights if they have a VIP in the car I know one of them.

Haven't read whole thread sorry.

Well Park Lane might be a bit different as most of the officials are staying there so extra lanes will be expected...

FWIW, I'm in Yorkshire, & I'm dreading it...

Annoying when people say its only for a couple of weeks....I saw a tfl poster that said disruption is expected up to 9th september!

I live on the outskirts of London, but near Heathrow, so bound to be busy round here.

DP works in central London and his commute is bound to be horrendous.

Our solution? 2 weeks somewhere warm and sunny, come back when it's all over!

YABU - but only because I'm an atmosphere junkie and olympic obsessed. I'm only in Buckinghamshire but would adore to be in London for the whole olympics. However, I don't have to work in London so it's ok for me to talk!

I don't think it would have worked at all in another city though. The bid was for London 2012, not UK-somewhere 2012. I don't see how a city like Birmingham could have won the bid in the first place, however good it would have been at hosting. It's just not internationally known enough. I think only London had a chance.

I also don't think the tickets are that scarce or unfair. I didn't even enter the ballot and I bought tickets a few weeks ago to both an olympic and a paralympic event. I know there are still loads of tickets and I considered buying more the other day. I still might, I don't know. It's definitely not a case of no ballot = no ticket, you just go on the website instead.

Tubes are already packed with huge amounts of tourists! It's going to be hell, no idea how the underground will cope! Lucky weather is so shit so less people overheating/passing out underground! But doesnt means the usual delays, signal problems, person taken ill, person under train......wont happen!

For goodness sakes. It's only 2 weeks. Was in Sydney during the 2000 Olympics. Totally amazing. Everyone went out of their way to be polite and courteous.

Everyone was happy and smiling. Got to see some top class sporting events and opening ceremony.

Have to say, London is pretty grim to get around at the best of times.

I would be a lot less grumpy about it if they'd done something to prioritise Londoners in the tickets fiasco allocation.

We have tickets, but I'm not looking forward to trying to entertain little ones as everywhere will be extra packed ( based near Hyde park/ museums do will become an even bigger tourist hotspot)

How can you compare sydney to london?

I'm also pissed off at the tarting up and resurficing of roads on the olympic route. I'm near one so that rd looks lovely.

Meanwhile the side rds surrounding look like a scene from 'I am legend' the weeds on pavements and in gutters are so high!

If people are seeing the effects already its not 'just two weeks' is it.

I didn't realise bikes were going to be booted out too! I love the Boris Bikes. Thankfully DH walks to work, so hopefully shouldn't be too badly affected, just more than the usual amount of tourists standing vacantly in the middle of Covent Garden!

It is going to be a nightmare, def. I was driving along the A4 last week through knightsbridge. The traffic is backed up at the best of times, but it's now got an olympic lane, a bus lane and everyone else has to squeeze in one lane.

I think people will tend to avoid the area though, so the traffic might not be so bad. I live in Ascot, and for Royal Ascot over the past couple of years, it has actually been really quiet on the roads, as people just avoid the area now!

It does make me a bit sad how grumpy everyone is about it. I went to the Superbowl this year, and everyone in Indianapolis was amazing. They lost all their car parks, their city center was pedestrianised - I don't know how people got to work! But they were so happy and welcoming, no one grumbled at all. The local schools made cookies, little bags of hershey's kisses, and welcome letters which were distributed to the hotels, everyone seemed so proud of the whole thing! It really touched me, and I've still got the little note put away.

As for the tarting up, that happens to us every royal ascot too, the grass gets cut, the hanging baskets brought out - would you rather they left it looking like a shithole?

untamedshrew - you honestly don't need the allocation, just go online, you can still buy them! You may not get the sport you want but that was also the case with the allocation wasn't it?!

And this is quite a minor point but they have removed all the coffee shops from outside London Bridge, which is very annoying first thing!

As for the tarting up, that happens to us every royal ascot too, the grass gets cut, the hanging baskets brought out - would you rather they left it looking like a shithole?

It wasn't a shithole in the first place.

But in neglecting the roads that won't be seen by tv cameras they are making them look unkempt.

no wonder the aussies call us 'whingeing poms'

Actually, Nancy66 not everyone is grumpy. Most people I know round here are either thrilled or are just getting on with it. But if you come on a thread that is specifically for people to air genuine grievances, guess what? You'll meet people with axes to grind. It is possible to be supportive of the Olympics in general and be pissed off with the huge inconveniences to daily life at the same time. Go start your own thread about how excited you are.

Gah! No coffee at London Bridge? I'm going to have a very stressful journey out of town with the DCs this weekend then!

For those asking how can just living in London equal chaos we live in Zone 3 South East London and both the train services and the bus services are being halved; therefore instead of trains to London Bridge being 5-10 minutes they are going to be 10-20 minutes. Buses are similar. Less trains/buses on a network where DH has to regularly miss trains as they are too crowded?! They are doing this so they have extra rolling stock in the Olympic areas. Also some stations are closing. So yes a disaster waiting to happen. Lets not forget even where we live 3 and 2 lane roads are having a lane closed so can't even depend on the roads.

Don't care it it makes me sound whingy, I am bloody glad I don't live or work in London any more and I am delighted that my DH recently stopped commuting after 10 years, he would have been hell to live with having to cope with all of the above every day for 3 weeks. London is an overcrowded nightmare at the best of times, can't imagine what it's going to be like and feel sorry for those who have to be there.

I'm looking forward to the games and am glad we won the bid.

I am, however, royally screwed for my commute! I live zone 6 SE London so go to London Bridge, Waterloo East or Victoria. I work in NW London as a nurse. 70-90 min commute at the best of times. Who knows how long it will take in those Olympic weeks!! Was refused Annual Leave too! Would normally cycle the Central London section but most of my route is cycle paths that are closed off and I simply don't like or trust the traffic enough to go on the roads.

Still