Beijing drafts to lessen traffic and smog at 2008 Olympics
(AP)
Updated: 2006-05-18 17:11
Beijing is drafting contingency plans to alleviate the city's smothering
traffic and smog during the 2008 Olympics.
Jiang Xiaoyu, a vice president of the Beijing Olympic organizing committee,
said the contingencies were needed to complement long-term strategies to improve
road and air conditions and ensure the Games' success. In addition to earmarking
lanes on some city roadways for Olympic vehicles, Jiang said banning cars and
other measures he did not specify were being considered.
"We're striving to achieve better air quality by the 2008 Games to welcome
the athletes and the Olympic family," Jiang told a news conference at the end of
a three-day inspection visit by the International Olympic Committee.
Traffic and pollution have emerged as key problems for Beijing to surmount in
its preparations for the Games and stand in contrast to the generally smooth
construction of Olympic venues. Soaring car ownership regularly bathes the city
in a brown haze and clogs roads, lengthening daily commutes and frustrating
citizens and officials.
In a sign of the scale of the problem, the IOC inspectors' visit occurred as
a sandstorm raked the city, fouling the air. For much of Tuesday and Wednesday,
the Beijing Environmental Protection Bureau recorded severely polluted air in
the capital.
Despite the conditions, IOC members said they were impressed by Beijing's
preparations. A tour of venues under construction especially impressed. "You
can't think of any other word than 'stunning,"' said Hein Verbruggen, the head
of the IOC's coordination committee.
Wide-ranging briefings covered everything from security to plans for the
torch relay. Though Beijing officials did not detail the contingency plans under
consideration, Verbruggen said he was confident Beijing would deal with the
traffic and pollution, but "it's an uphill battle for them."
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