Olympic lanes

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I pride myself on being a laid back, easy going type of person in the grand scheme of things. But lately there is something which is really beginning to get my goat.

Olympic lanes.

If I'm honest, I don't disagree with their existence because of course there needs to be provisions made for transporting the masses around London during this epic piece of British history in the making. What I can't understand is why they have been so poorly publicised. Why is it only now, days before the Olympics start that the public are receiving the necessary information? 

Olympic lanes are similar to bus lanes in that you're average Joe will not be allowed to drive in them and if you're caught wandering within the confines; bang! a £130 fine. That's all good and well but what would have been even better is if the public were properly informed of these restrictions in a timely manner. Maybe I've been hiding under a dark rock somewhere because the first I heard about them was from my folks a few days ago and twitter. Yesterday was the first time I had heard radio adverts and news coverage about the restrictions, before that there had been no prominent advertising campaign on TV, public transport or press from what I had seen. It's unbelievable and smacks of cynical money-making.

To add insult to injury bus lanes are also now out of bounds 6am - 12am; so lets just call it 24 hours a day, 7 days a week until the Olympics end. Yet the communication has been woeful where this is concerned too. It's only yesterday that I noticed the sign posts in my area have been changed to reflect the no go zones. In addition there are poorly positioned, free standing sign posts, similar to those used to inform about serious incidents/accidents that have taken place on the roads. Everything looks more like an after thought, not a carefully considered and finely tuned multi million (or is it billion?) pound exercise. 

It's disgusting that more hasn't been said about these changes which will cost drivers a fortune if they happen to find themselves on the wrong side of the track. It's a shame because there was a time when I was excited about the Olympics being in Great Britain, but the more I see the basics being poorly executed the more concerned I become about the event as a whole, well not concerned just peeved I suppose. 

Olympic lanes aside the biggest joke of all comes in the form of the Olympic sponsors. McDonald's, Cadbury's, Coca Cola. WHAT? It seems money really does make the world go round. *sigh*


What do you think about Olympic lanes? Do you believe the restrictions were communicated adequately?