Beijing 2022 has been begun setting up Olympic lanes for the Winter Olympic Games ©Beijing 2022

The first traffic lane reserved exclusively for athletes, officials and journalists taking part in next year’s Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games in Beijing has appeared in the Chinese capital.

The road at the west side of the Olympic Park has been marked out with an Olympic lane.

More Olympic lanes, with a total length of 74.7 kilometres, are due to be set up by the end of this month, involving around 20 roads in downtown Beijing.

According to the Beijing Municipal Commission of Transport, these special lanes are now just marked out and can be used by private vehicles as normal until the traffic management notice of special lanes is issued prior to the opening of the Games.

The Olympic lanes will be used by 10,000 accredited athletes, officials, judges and journalists during Beijing 2022.

Nearly 75km of Olympic lanes are due to be set up in Beijing by the end of November ©Beijing 2022
Nearly 75km of Olympic lanes are due to be set up in Beijing by the end of November ©Beijing 2022

Olympic lanes are often among the most controversial features when a city hosts the Games.

The Olympic Route Network, arguably the Games' least popular aspect for Londoners when the British capital staged the Olympic and Paralympics in 2012, squeezed already busy traffic into fewer lanes.

During Rio 2016, Cariocas often ignored the lanes and continued to drive in them, despite the threat of a fine.

The problem was minimised during the re-arranged Olympic and Paralympic Games in Tokyo as the Japanese capital was not operating at full-capacity due to restrictions surrounding COVID-19.

The Olympic Route Network, set up for London 2012, was the most unpopular feature of the Games in the British capital ©Getty Images
The Olympic Route Network, set up for London 2012, was the most unpopular feature of the Games in the British capital ©Getty Images

During its successful bid in 2015, Beijing 2022 promised the main Olympic Village would be within a 15-minute ride from the Bird's Nest Stadium for the Opening and Closing Ceremonies, venues for ice sports, the International Olympic Committee hotel, the International Broadcasting Centre and the Main Press Centre.

“At Games-time, a well-designed road network traffic management system and dedicated Olympic lanes will guarantee the smooth and reliable operation and Games-time transport," the Beijing 2022 bid book said.