London 2012 Olympics: Traffic in London Likely to Witness Unprecedented Surge

The city of London will witness more traffic congestion during the London 2012 Olympic Games; the traffic would increase by 33 per cent, warns Inrix, a software company which provides real-time traffic information.

It is expected that more than 5 million people will attend the summer games to be held between July and August.

The first three days of the Games are particularly going to halt the traffic. The opening ceremony on July 27 coincides with a busy holiday weekend; the traffic during that period is usually above 30% of the average.

The next event is the Men's Road Cycling Race for which several routes would be closed in southwest London and Surrey.

"One of the busiest holiday getaway weekends, the Olympic opening ceremony and the Men's road cycling race is the perfect traffic storm. Nearly 100,000 ticket-holders are expected at the opening ceremony, with tens of thousands of visitors anticipated at the live sites at Hyde Park and Victoria Park. This, combined with thousands of closed roads for the Men's Road Cycling event will undeniably create huge stress on the UK's road networks," INRIX Lead Scientist and Traffic Analyst Greg Hallsworth explains why the weekend (27-29 July) would see an unprecedented surge in traffic, in press release.

Londoners are advised that they might spend additional time in their movement across the city, particularly Greater London, Vauxhall Bridge, Blackwall Tunnel and other areas where events would be organised.

INRIX has predicted that morning peak traffic would be at 05:30 rather than 07:00 and evening peak traffic would be as early as 15:30, rather than the usual 17:00. However, evening traffic would disperse by 18:00 rather than 19:30 as people settle to watch the events in the stadium or on TV.

It is advisable to use public transport and avoid peak hours and set out for journey early.