Athens: the traffic Olympics
Date: 2015-06-17
Athens has a very limited highway system and rush hour traffic that often moves at a walking pace. Spyros Kapralos, executive director of the 2004 organizing committee, describes Athens as a city originally designed for 80,000 people that now has a population of 5,000,000. The International Olympic Committee has listed traffic congestion as one of the main challenges facing the city, particularly since limited hotel space means that most ticket holders will be forced to stay in private homes or far away from Athens.
Organizers have not decided how to limit and control private vehicles during the games and IOC officials have expressed frustration that Athens has canceled several planned road works and transportation projects aimed at easing traffic congestion. However, Greek Premier Costas Simitis promised recently in Tokyo that the necessary work will be completed in time.
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