Testing the benefits of 2012

Surveys here show that the majority of Londoners support the 2012 Games and are confident that they will bring benefits to the area.

My work at City Hall includes testing that this confidence is well placed.

We've been looking recently at the remit and the challenges that face the Olympic Park Legacy Company.

It is vital that local employment plays a key part of the development of the park after the Games, and our report recommends that more ambitious targets are set.

We have discussed ticketing and delved into the experience of the Manchester Commonwealth Games and The O2, to see what measures they put in place to deliver a fair ticketing strategy and how they overcome problems of locals feeling "squeezed out" by more distant visitors.

Transport during the 2012 Games remains a hot topic, and last week's Mayor's Question Time saw a debate on proposals to cordon off special Olympic lanes in the Blackwall Tunnel.

I didn't miss this opportunity to point out that the chaos this would cause illustrates our need for more river crossings.

Olympic swimmers have a choice but these don't exist for the rest of us.

- John Biggs is London Assembly Member, City and East