To: Maidstone Joint Transportation Board
18th July 2012
From: Spencer Palmer, Head of Highway Operations
Subject: London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics – Highways and Transportation Operational plans
For information
1. Introduction
The London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic games are the major sporting events in the world this year and will have an impact on Kent as well as London and other surrounding areas. The Olympics begin on 27th July and run until 12th August and the Paralympics from 29th August to 9th September. Additionally the Olympic torch relay will be coming through the county between 17th to 20th July and in Dover and Maidstone there are associated celebratory events which are expected to attract tens of thousands of people.
2. Tactical control centre (Road Cell)
For the
duration of the Olympics, Kent Police are setting up a Tactical Co-ordination
Centre (TCC Road Cell) at Medway Police Station. This forms part of the command
and control system that the Police are employing to manage this event. The
purpose of the TCC is to deal promptly with any issues or incidents that occur
on the highway network. The TCC will be operational 24 hours a day and Highways
and Transportation staff will work on a shift basis to cover these hours. The
staff based there will be from the Highway Operations team and will be able to
make decisions regarding any action that needs to be taken. They will work
closely with other organisations based in the TCC including the Police, Port of Dover, SE Ambulance Service and KCC Emergency Planning team. Arrangements are also
in place for regular communication with the Highways Agency who will be
operating from their Road Co-ordination Centre in Godstone, Surrey.
There will not be a TCC in operation for the Paralympics.
KCC’s Highways Management Centre at Aylesford will also be operating 24/7 throughout the duration of the games, to monitor and coordinate planned activity and to be able to react swiftly to any unplanned events that have an impact on our road networks.
3. Operational plans
One general maintenance crew from the highway contractor Enterprise will be working from each of the six depots around the county and will be available for emergencies. When not attending to emergencies they will be deployed to work on small jobs e.g. cleaning signs, cutting back vegetation etc.
Additionally our Traffic Signal Contractor Telent will have an Engineer on standby between 1900 and 0700 to deal with signal faults near Ebbsfleet and on key diversion routes.
4. Paralympics
Kent is a host county for the Paralympics and the road cycling event will be held at Brands Hatch on 5-8 September. The race circuit includes the A20, Scratchers Lane and Fawkham Road which will need to be closed on these days to facilitate the event. KCC H&T are leading the traffic plan for the event, working closely with London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, Kent Police and Sevenoaks District Council. The AA is managing the A20 road closure and diversions, with traffic stewards deployed at the road closure points to facilitate local access for residents and businesses.
The KCC Roadworks team will have a representative in the event control room during the event, and will be able to take make decisions regarding any action to be taken. They will also instruct the AA to make dynamic adjustments to the traffic plan as required.
The HMC will be operating 0600 to 2200 with provision to stay open if there is an incident
5. Events in Maidstone
The Olympic torch will go through Maidstone town centre on the 19th July. Additionally there will be two major events in the evening, one at Moat Park and the other at Leeds Castle. Both events are expected to attract in the region of 5000 spectators. Maidstone Borough Council is co-ordinating all of these events and the KCC Road Works Co-ordination team are working closely with them to ensure that any impact to the road network is well managed.
6. Conclusion
The Olympics and Paralympics are key sporting events that will have an impact on the County. Arrangements are in place to ensure that the impact on the road network is managed and as far as possible the travelling public can enjoy the Games with as little disruption as possible. However the volume of traffic on key routes into London will undoubtedly be greatly increased and this report sets out the steps that are being taken to manage this in Kent.
Background documents:
1.Kent County Council 2012 London Olympic and Paralympic Games – Emergency Planning Special Operations Plan
2. Ebbsfleet International Station Large Passenger Volume Multi-Agency Emergency Response Plan – June 2012
Contact: Carol Valentine, Highway Manager West,
Tel: 08458 247800