ODA to invest in 'ride or stride' plans
by Pete Hayman | 23 Feb 2009
The Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) has announced that it will invest more than £11.5m in a scheme that will enable 385,000 spectators to walk or cycle to events at the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Two new walking and cycling trails will be established, while six others will be upgraded, to create a network of paths between Finsbury Park and Victoria Park, and from Epping Forest and the Wanstead Flats to Stratford. Improvements to existing routes will include upgraded surfacing on both on-road and off-road routes, better signage and demarcation along shared walking and cycling routes, and enhancing road crossings.
Plans are also in place to create 5,000 new bike spaces in time for use at the 2012 Games, which will help to create a legacy of improvements to key walking and cycling routes between sporting hubs for future events. ODA chair, John Armitt, said: "London 2012's aim is for 100 per cent of spectators to get to the Games using public transport, walking or cycling. The ODA is investing more than £11.5m to make walking and cycling more attractive options for spectators, as well as leaving behind a positive legacy of eight new or improved off-road routes."
London mayor Boris Johnson added: "The reinvigoration and extension of these walking and cycling routes will hugely increase the attractiveness of travelling to the Games venues in the most healthy and environment-friendly way possible. "This infrastructure will leave Londoners with the legacy of some fantastic new green ways of getting about the city, to be used and enjoyed by walkers and cyclists for decades to come."
The Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) has announced that it will invest more than £11.5m in a scheme that will enable 385,000 spectators to walk or cycle to events at the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Two new walking and cycling trails will be established, while six others will be upgraded, to create a network of paths between Finsbury Park and Victoria Park, and from Epping Forest and the Wanstead
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