CONCERNS have been raised that there will be parking chaos in Redbridge during the Olympics as drivers seek to avoid expensive penalties for leaving their cars nearer games venues.

Temporary restrictions in areas within 30 minutes walk of venues will encur fines of at least £200 if breached.

There are fears this will force visitors to park in Redbridge due to its strong transport links to Stratford, leaving the area swamped with cars unless similar restictions are introduced.

More than 4,000 residents recently successfully fought a campaign against parking restrictions in and around High Street, Wanstead, which they claimed would hit business.

However Ian Bond, deputy leader of the council, said the authority was considering introducing restrictions in other areas nearby.

He said: “There’s definitely the issue of displacement. Our public transport links are second-to-none and our road links are excellent so we are an obvious destination for people coming in from the Home Counties and further afield.

“There will be huge parking pressure on the borough [and] we’re looking at resident parking permits around Wanstead and Snaresbrook.”

One such scheme is set to begin in April next year in Addison Road, Wanstead, and resident Alicia Hart, 37, said she would support more extreme measures during the Olympics.

She added: “The council should come down heavily on Olympics tourists. One thing they could do is literally tow people’s cars away. [If they] clamp them and take them away then of course it’s suddenly a much bigger deterrent.”

Residents who campaigned against parking restrictions said they expected parking “chaos” in the summer but hope the number of visitors will provide a welcome boost for businesses.

Michael Powis, 70, of Grosvenor Road, said: “It will be chaos and we will all be totally inconvenienced by this. Our lives will be a misery so we might as well make some money out of it.”

Daniel Carver, 33, of Ford End in Woodford Green, is currently campaigning against parking permits in his area.

He said: “The Olympics is an extraordinary event and may need extraordinary measures. It makes sense to do something, but it must be strictly temporary.”

A spokesman for Locog, the Olympic organising committee, said no parking sites will be made available exclusively for Olympics ticketholders within the 30 minutes’ walking radius of Games’ venues, but added: “We are encouraging all ticketholders to make their way to venues using public transport where possible.

“In addition we are providing park and ride and shuttle bus facilities to venues.

“We are working with local authorities around our venues to ensure residents and businesses are able to continue going about their lives with minimum disruption during the Games.”

The park and ride sites can be used by a total of 350,000 vehicles throughout the Olympics and are located in Essex, Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Dorset.

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