Reduced traffic during Olympics in Vancouver, Whistler a priority

With the Winter Olympic now less than four months away, traffic and parking restrictions in downtown Vancouver are beginning to come into effect. Their aim is to reduce the 55,000 daily journeys into downtown by 30 percent before the Olympics begin.

The Winter Olympics are being held between Feb. 12 and 28, 2010 in Vancouver and Whistler. The road closures in Vancouver begin on Nov. 1 when a section of 1st Avenue will be closed so that the area around the Olympic Village can begin to be ‘secured’. The Seawall in this area will also be closed from that date. Further driving and parking restrictions will be introduced over the subsequent weeks, so that by the end of January the complete plan for limiting traffic in the downtown area will have been implemented. Besides security, the major reason for these restrictions is that Olympic organizers are hoping to eliminate 30% of all vehicle trips in the downtown core, across the bridges to the North Shore and along the Sea-to-Sky Highway toward Whistler. As a permit will be required to park at Whistler during the Olympics, ticket holders for events at Whistler will have to book a seat on an Olympic bus, which become available on Nov. 24 and will cost $25 for a return journey from downtown Vancouver. Tickets for the shorter trip to Cypress Mountain on the North Shore will cost $12. After Jan. 4, these prices will increase. Back in Vancouver, transit officials believe that the traffic restrictions will lead to an increase of 20 percent in the number of people using public transport. They believe that this could push some transit routes to their limit. Currently, 800,000 people use transit each weekday. To help with the increased numbers, 180 extra buses, a third Seabus, and 48 more Skytrain cars will be brought into use, though none of these services will be available around the clock during the Olympics. Transit users are being urged to avoid travelling between 7 a.m. and 9 a.m. and between 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. The number of people riding on transit is not the only figure to consider. 5,500 athletes will compete at the games. The workforce for the Olympics is around ten times that number. Along with almost 10,000 accredited media it’s expected that 135,000 people will attend the Olympic venues in Vancouver on a daily basis and nearly 60,000 will be present at events in Whistler. All roads around Olympic venues will be closed. In downtown Vancouver, parking restrictions will be in place on 650 city blocks and sections of Granville, Robson, and Hamilton streets will be pedestrianised from noon to midnight during the Games.