The Vancouver 2010 transport plan is 80 percent complete with 11 months remaining until the opening ceremony. It was originally planned for completion by the end of 2007. Last October, the IOC Coordination Commission ordered VANOC to have a draft ready for its spring visit. At that time, IOC Games Executive Director Gilbert Felli anticipated transport during Vancouver 2010 would be "difficult."
Residents and visitors will be hearing slogans like "business as unusual," "travel smart," and "know before you go" in the months to come from VANOC and its government partners. But they will have to wait until sometime in the fall to receive the official guide to getting around the Olympic city.
The Olympic lane network will aid the flow of Olympic family transport through Vancouver's densely packed downtown core, where B.C. Place Stadium, GM Place and the main media center are located.
Between 60,000 and 135,000 spectators a day are expected there.
Olympic lanes will include TransLink public transit buses, but not taxis. Talks are ongoing with owners of local taxi companies and the provincial regulator to ease restrictions and introduce more vehicles downtown.
Shuttle buses will link venues with SkyTrain and Canada Line rapid transit stations. Transit fares are included with tickets to city venues. A special, limited edition two-month Olympic transit pass will be available. That will encourage use of the new Canada Line, third SeaBus, 48 more SkyTrain cars and 200 new buses. Otherwise, VANOC hopes carpooling, time shifting and telecommuting become common among locals.
Popular shopping thoroughfare Robson Street and the Granville Mall nightclub district will become pedestrian-only corridors. Mainland Street will also be closed to vehicles to unite the David Lam Park live site near Yaletown with the other live site at the former Larwill Park. Bylaws will be amended to allow overnight deliveries.
Dedicated traffic signals, queue jump lanes and high-occupancy vehicle corridors will be used in a bid to ease the flow across the Lions Gate and Ironworkers Memorial Second Narrows bridges to the North Shore and Upper Levels Highway, and on the Sea-to-Sky Highway.
No Olympic lane is planned for now on the Knight and Oak Street bridges between Vancouver and Richmond, site of the Richmond Olympic Oval and Vancouver International Airport. The Knight bridge is the closest span between the No. 8 Road, Port Metro, Vancouver-owned VANOC fleet parking lot and the depot at the foot of Boundary Road.
VANOC said road closure dates, goods and services routes, Olympic bus network booking information, the Sea-to-Sky Highway permit process and venue-specific details would come in summer. A spectator guide will be released in the fall.
James Presses for 2010 Accountability
If British Columbians knew the truth about the costs of staging the 2010 Winter Olympics, it would ensure a proud legacy says NDP leader Carole James.
James proposed a motion March 3 in the province's legislature aimed at appointing an auditor with sole responsibility for overseeing Games spending.
"In difficult economic times we expect an honest accounting from government, a plan to contain costs as much as possible and a plan to pay off Olympic expenses once the athletes go home," James said. "The truth isn't going to hurt the 2010 Games."
James stated Vancouver won its bid during a booming economy in 2003, but the Games are destined to occur in a recession. She said it was "an embarrassment" for the government to claim the province is spending only $467 million on the Games.
"The auditor general has the power to follow British Columbia's money as far as British Columbia's money goes," responded Maple Ridge-Mission Liberal MLA Randy Hawes. "The auditor general is not the auditor of record for VANOC. He could be, if they chose to appoint him."
Auditor General John Doyle complained of government interference when he stopped short of issuing a report on Olympic costs and risks last December. In 2005, then-auditor general Arn van Iersel estimated the cost for B.C. taxpayers at $1.9 billion. B.C. taxpayers are liable for VANOC's post-Games losses.
On March 9, James and her NDP colleagues criticized the Liberal government for the anticipated temporary layoff of 200 workers at the Hastings Racecourse casino during the Games. The facility is next door to the Pacific Coliseum speedskating and figure skating venue. Operator Great Canadian Gaming told Around the Rings in 2007 that it would shut during the Games because the security perimeter would hinder staff and customer access.
Briefs
...Nov. 2-6 are the dates for Exercise Gold, the third and biggest of Vancouver 2010's pre-Games security rehearsals. Vice Adm. Dean McFadden, the head of the Canadian Forces' Canada Command, said last November's Exercise Bronze and February's Exercise Silver were among many pre-Games exercises for military, RCMP and other agencies. The Canadian Forces has a $165 million share of the $900 million Games' security budget.
...Holland America Line is negotiating with the RCMP to provide cruise ships for the 2010 Winter Olympics security force at Ballantyne Pier. Erik Elvejord, spokesman for the Seattle-based cruise company, declined comment until the RCMP deal is finalized.
Cpl. Jen Allan of the RCMP Vancouver 2010 Integrated Security Unit said, "We will not comment on an active procurement process. We will announce when a contract is awarded."
On Nov. 19, 2008, the RCMP canceled a $55 million contract with Cruise Connections Charter Management of North Carolina to provide three ships with a total 5,000 beds. Cruise Connections filed a breach of contract lawsuit against the RCMP.
...The sports history of British Columbia will be open to Games spectators after all. B.C. Sports Hall of Fame and Museum President Sue Griffin said the provincial sports shrine at B.C. Place Stadium will be open to the public by day and private functions by night during the 2010 Winter Olympics. A deal was reached last month with VANOC to avoid closing the hall during the Games. Security and ticketing details are to be worked out, she said.
...More than 300 aboriginal youth, elders and athletes will carry the Olympic flame during the 106-day relay. Nominations of First Nations, Inuit and Metis people will be conducted through their federal umbrella organizations to become one of 206 torchbearers, a dozen youth flame attendants and 115 honorary elder fire keepers.
The Coca-Cola and RBC-sponsored event begins Oct. 30 in Victoria, B.C. and includes 100 native communities. Federal government torch relay development sessions recommended VANOC follow Sydney 2000 and appoint an aboriginal athlete to light the cauldron at the Feb. 12 opening ceremony.
With reporting from Bob Mackin in Vancouver.