Beijing citizens will not be allowed to park at Olympic venues as part of government plans to discourage the use of private cars during the 2008 Games, local media reported on Monday.

The authorities in China's capital, which has an official population of 15 million and notoriously congested traffic, are considering a series of measures to keep a significant number of the city's 3 million cars off the roads during the Olympics.

"Beijing will do its best to reduce the personal use of vehicles during the Olympics," Beijing News quoted the Beijing Traffic Commission's deputy director, Liu Xiaoming, as saying.

The surging number of new cars in the capital, with 1,000 more hitting on road everyday, was always a lurking danger, which some experts warned might paralyze the capital's transport system during the Olympics.

"To ensure traffic smoothness during the Olympics, Beijing will reduce traffic flow by 20 to 25 percent before the Olympics," Liu told a forum.

"Thus we will be able to ensure traffic conditions that will be almost the same as currently," Liu was quoted as saying.

Citing the examples of Sydney and Atlanta, Liu said that Beijing would follow suit by banning citizens driving private cars to Olympic venues.

"There won't be parking lots for private cars around the venues," he said.

Yu Chunquan, deputy director of Beijing Traffic Management Bureau, said ticket holders for the Olympic Games, the number of which is expected to reach 7 million, could take a free bus to the venues using their tickets.

Besides a special traffic management centre, which will be in charge of traffic co-ordination during the Games, Beijing will also open 210 kilometres of special Olympic traffic lanes connecting different sites to ensure officials and athletes will arrive on time for events.

(China Daily September 19, 2006)