Olympic Guide Notes No. 4
Welcome to the fourth of our short guides on how the Games may affect moving and relocation operations in July August and September 2012. In this issue, we take another look at Perfect Storm Days, arranging access to properties in the vicinity of any Olympic venue, the schedule of events by postcode and date, and how we will organise services during the Olympic weeks.
Perfect Storm Days (Part 2) In our last issue, we advised that you don’t want to go anywhere on these days! Friday July 27th, Saturday July 28th, Sunday July 29th, Wednesday August 1st, Friday August 3rd, and Monday August 13th. Well, now that we’ve had a further look at the schedule, we can see even more opportunities for chaos: so... On Your Marks, Get Set...Stop!!
JULY
16
Monday 16th July
Large numbers of competitors & media arriving at Heathrow – expect a ribbon of traffic from Heathrow east on the M4/A4 into the Olympic Village.
JULY
Sunday 21st to Friday 27th July
21-27
Olympic Flame processes through outer and central London – see route at this link: http://www.london2012.com/torch-relay/route
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26
Thursday 26th July Large numbers of visitors and spectators expected via Heathrow.
JULY
28
Today is the main start date for most competitions. Almost, you name it, it’s going on! But, just to make things really sticky, it’s men’s road race cycle day. Starting from The Mall, Westminster SW1 at 10am the race extends out via a 250 kms route south and west through Fulham, Putney, Richmond, Twickenham, and loops through the Surrey towns of Weybridge, Woking, Guildford, Dorking, Leatherhead, and Esher including 9 laps of the famous 15.5 kms Box Hill circuit, before returning through the same London streets to finish back again at The Mall, to be completed by 4.15pm. Follow this link to see the route: http://l2012.cm/geuP3e
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Friday 27th July
This is opening ceremony day. 100,000 ticket holders are expected at the main Olympic venue in Stratford, Newham Borough, E20 1/2/3. There will also be tens of thousands of visitors anticipated at the live sites at Hyde Park which is in Westminster W2, and Victoria Park which is in Tower Hamlets E3. Keep clear of central and east London!
ICM Gerson Olympic Guide Notes / No. 4
Saturday 28th July
29
Sunday 29th July
Today is womens cycle race day. The route is the same as above for the men but is only about 140 kms long because there are only 2 laps of the Box Hill circuit. Start time at The Mall is 12 midday and finish time again 4.15pm. Please bear in mind that, on both these days, the cycle race roads will be closed to other traffic for the duration of the races and therefore you should expect severe congestion all day in the immediate environs of the race route!!
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JULY
31
Tuesday 31st July
Cycling Time Trial Technical Rehearsal with Rolling Road Blocks (RRBs) from Hampton Court, through north Surrey, and back to Hampton Court.
AUG
1
Wednesday 1st August
Today is another major cycling day with both the ladies and mens time trials taking place. Click on the link to see the routes: http://l2012.cm/featO9 Both races are taking place today between 12.30 and 4.25pm and, with the roads being closed off, you should expect that this corner of south west London and Surrey will be a no-go area for the day! As this area is particularly popular with the expatriate community, today could present some interesting challenges for anyone who wants to move into or out of the area!! It’s also a big day for the swimmers, with 8 major finals or semi-finals taking place at the Aquatics Centre.
Thursday 2nd August Triathlon Technical Rehearsal with RRBs from Hyde Park, across Hyde Park Corner, down Constitution Hill to Buckingham gate, and then back backtracking to Hyde Park. Here is the route: http://l2012.cm/RbCpXV AUG
AUG
3
Today is the first day of events in the main Olympic stadium and as a result it is predicted that travel networks will be twice as busy as on previous days in the first week of the Olympic Games. In fact, today is predicted to be the busiest travel day to & from stadia of the main Games and Paralympics. In general, the second week of the Olympic Games will be much busier than the first. LOCOG, the London Organising Committee, is advising people who normally commute to or work in central / east London to work from home or take leave on Friday 3 August!
AUG
4
Saturday 4th August
Women’s Triathlon from Hyde Park, across Hyde Park Corner, down Constitution Hill to Buckingham Gate and the backtracking to Hyde Park via the same route. Please see route under Thursday August 2nd. Please note Hyde Park Corner will be CLOSED today and, given the proximity of the event to the beach volleyball at Horse Guards Parade, this area of central London will be almost impassable!!
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4
Friday 3rd August
AUG
5
Sunday 5th August
Women’s Marathon starting at The Mall, out to Tower Hill and back. Here’s the route: http://l2012.cm/LSsKk0
No. 4 / Olympic Guide Notes ICM Gerson
AUG
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Tuesday August 7th
Men’s Triathlon from Hyde Park, across Hyde Park Corner, down Constitution Hill to Buckingham Gate and the backtracking to Hyde Park via the same route. Please see route under Thursday August 2nd. Please note Hyde Park Corner will be CLOSED today and, given the proximity of the event to the beach volleyball at Horse Guards Parade, this area of central London will be almost impassable!!
AUG
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14-15
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Sunday 12th August
Men’s Marathon (see route under Sunday August 5th) and Closing Ceremony at Main Games venue in Stratford E20.
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Tuesday 14th and Wednesday 15th August Still significant numbers leaving via Heathrow.
Saturday 11th August
Men’s 50km and Women’s 20km Race Walks via Constitution Hill & The Mall. The route is: http://l2012.cm/LxnIuX
AUG
To fast-track departing athletes and their baggage, Heathrow is constructing a special Games Terminal between terminals four and five. However, given that bikes, canoes, and vaulter’s poles are not exactly everyday ‘baggage’, it will be interesting to see how Heathrow’s baggage system copes!
Monday 13th August
Today is departure day. The Closing Ceremony was yesterday, Sunday the 12th, and now all the athletes and coaches will leave, so you can expect the queue to stretch from the Olympic Village in the east down the Westway, onto the M4, and into Heathrow Airport. Heathrow is expecting its busiest day ever in its history with all flight departures expected to be full. Passengers departures are expected to rise to 138,000 (including 10,000 competitors) for the day from a norm of 95,000 – a 45% increase. Bag departures are expected to increase from 150,000 to 203,000 (including 38,000 competitors bags) – a 35% increase.
ICM Gerson Olympic Guide Notes / No. 4
AUG
24-29
SEPT
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SEPT
9 SEPT
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Wednesday 22nd August Significant arrival numbers at Heathrow for Paralympics.
Friday 24th to Wednesday 29th August Paralympic Flame processes through outer and central London with RRBs.
Wednesday 5th to Saturday 8th September Paralympic Road Cycling at Brands Hatch, Kent.
Sunday 9th September Mens & Womens Olympic Marathons and Closing Ceremony.
Monday 10th September Significant departure numbers via Heathrow.
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Working in the vicinity of an Olympic venue
Operational procedures during the Games period
TfL have at last given formal guidance on what the procedures are if we are carrying out a removal in the vicinity of an Olympic venue.
In practical terms, the Games will bring a number of transport headaches. TfL with LOCOG have been keen to encourage the so-called 4 Rs, which are:
There is no permit system but we have to ensure that our staff are carrying certain documents at all times, and these are:
a) Original of photo ID document – driving licence or passport b) Letter confirming the employment of that staff member with our Company c) Original collection / delivery docket TfL advise that, providing our staff have all these papers with them, they should get through any vehicle checks/ roadblocks. However, the operative word is “should” as they are not guaranteeing that there will be unimpeded progress at all times.
Events by postcode Please click on the following link to go to a schedule of all the competitions (football outside of London excepted) classified by postcode so you can what is in or adjacent to your office, home, or route to work: http://bit.ly/O4MD8Y
REDUCE... the number of vehicles handling your deliveries during the Games pre-order non-perishable goods, work with neighbouring businesses etc
RETIME... Work with your suppliers to change delivery/collection times avoid peak times, make out-of-hours deliveries wherever possible
REROUTE... you may be able to avoid disruption by using a different route be aware of any changes to the road network in your area
REVISE MODE...
it may be possible to modify the mode of transport required for collections and deliveries or even the type of delivery itself
It does not take much thinking to realise that removal work, which is bespoked to the clients date and address requirements, simply does not fit with these admittedly worthy aims. However, there are some changes we can make ourselves and ways that you & your clients can help us, so here is a short list of how we intend to deal with the traffic crush during Olympic weeks. 6
No. 4 / Olympic Guide Notes ICM Gerson
Your local knowledge Apart from the above Perfect Storm dates, if you know of any Olympic-related activity in your area (for instance, being near one of the 50 or so National Hospitality Houses – go to http://bit.ly/yTJP8q - or any street alterations), please advise us at the time of booking the collection / delivery so we can consider if this has any effect on the work. Timings a) Large collections /deliveries – we will give an arrival time for our staff. This may be as early as between 6-7am. If our staff are delayed they will ring the client en route to advise. With early starts and the need to comply with the Working Time Directive, we do not anticipate planning late finishes or evening work. b) Smaller collections / deliveries – we will give an arrival time-window for our staff. This may be as early as between 6-7am. We will not commit to specific times and we ask clients not to plan any other events for move day in case there is severe traffic disruption. If our staff are delayed they will call the client en route to advise. With early starts and the need to comply with the Working Time Directive, we do not anticipate planning late finishes or evening work.
the work involved and we will advise at the time what this fee will be. b) If a collection / delivery has to be postponed, we will tell the client when this will be rearranged for but it may be several days before we can return. Packing over multiple days a) If we are with the client for 2 days or more, and there is garage / storage space to accommodate the packing materials to be used on the move, we may ask for permission to use that space with all materials being delivered on the 1st day of the move and our crew subsequently coming to the house via London Underground in order to minimise the likelihood of traffic delays in getting to/from site in subsequent days. b) If clients can help us with this, we will probably only use our trucks/vans on the 1st and last day of each move.
Cancellations due to unforeseen circumstances a) If sheer weight of traffic; or an inability to pass a Transport for London checkpoint near an Olympic venue due to an individual officer’s decision or security lockdown; or the clients inability to be at home as planned frustrates a collection or delivery, we will be charging for our lost time & labour. This will vary job by job depending on the scale of
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