‘Small roads’ blamed for Olympic snub
OLYMPIC chiefs have blamed the small size of east London roads for a controversial plan to re-route the marathon, a leaked letter revealed this week.
OLYMPIC chiefs have blamed the small size of east London roads for a controversial plan to re-route the marathon, a leaked letter revealed this week.
The letter, from LOCOG to Tower Hamlets Council, claims the main reason for moving the marathon to west London was the wider roads.
It is believed the letter, sent by LOCOG chief Paul Deighton to council leader Helal Abbas in August this year, said there would not be enough space on east London roads for both the Olympic lanes (the VIP routes dedicated to official traffic) and the marathon.
The leaked letter follows revelations last month that Olympics organisers were considering re-routing the televised race from ‘dull’ east London to the ‘iconic’ west.
The marathon has traditionally finished at the Olympic stadium and under the original plans competitors would have raced from Tower Bridge to Stratford.
But organisers are now keen on beginning and finishing the race at The Mall, taking in Buckingham Palace, Trafalgar Square and the Square Mile.
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The leaked letter reportedly said: “The decision has been taken after several months work and has been taken on a combination of factors.”
Mr Deighton said there were “traffic management implications” on the original east London route and plans to start the race on Tower Bridge were scrapped because it “proved incompatible in terms of size requirements.”
In latest developments, Tower Hamlets Council has now also written a letter to London 2012 chief Seb Coe demanding the marathon stick to its original route.
