Olympic organizers reveal transportation plan for Vancouver

The Associated Press • Published March 11, 2009

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VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Olympic organizers released a wide-ranging transportation plan Wednesday designed to keep cars off the road during the 2010 Games through street closures, lane reductions and an ambitious reliance on public transit.

More than 30 blocks of the city’s downtown will be converted to pedestrian-only corridors each afternoon, while 1,500 Olympic-specific buses will be used as part of a strategy that includes city priority lanes and alternating traffic on the key artery between Vancouver and the host mountain resort of Whistler, British Columbia.

Part of the challenge for organizers in creating this tentative transportation plan has been the constraints of Vancouver’s geography.

The city is surrounded by water, minimizing available roads for the thousands of people who rely on bridges to get in and out of downtown Vancouver every day.

There is also only one route to Whistler, though organizers have a contingency plan involving a service road and the possible use of boats if the highway is forced to close.

Spectators will have to book a $25 round trip bus ticket to Whistler to attend events. There will be very little public parking at the resort, none at Olympic venues and very few spots on Vancouver’s downtown streets.

A massive expansion of the existing TransLink system is ongoing, including a new rapid transit line from the airport and hundreds more buses.

The buses will run from 14 hubs, some at universities and colleges that have rearranged spring breaks to accommodate the Olympics and take some pressure off transportation.