City of Vancouver Newsrelease: City of Vancouver meets with business and community groups on getting around in 2010

City of Vancouver News Release

November 25, 2008

City of Vancouver meets with business and community groups on getting around in 2010

The 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games are the biggest events to occur in the history of the City of Vancouver, with more than a quarter of a million visitors and 10,000 media expected in the city during Games time. This will mean a significant increase in activity on city streets, and reduced road capacity in areas surrounding and connecting Games venues.

Over the next month, the City of Vancouver will be talking to business, transportation and community groups about temporary changes to the city’s road network leading up to and during the 2010 Winter Games. For the safety and security of the public, Games participants and Games-time operations, road closures—primarily in the downtown core—are required. By providing information on road closures 15 months prior to Games time, the City is focusing its discussions with business, transportation and community groups on how to best move throughout the city during the 2010 Winter Games period.

To manage these Games-time conditions, the City is introducing measures designed to allow local businesses to operate and residents to get where they need to go while allowing athletes and officials to reliably travel to Games events.

These measures include:

enhanced pedestrian and cycling routes to improve wayfinding and bring streets to life with the spirit of celebration during Games time

transit capacity improvements, being led by the City’s Games partner TransLink

maximized use of streets, with measures such as limiting construction-related closures

adjustments to traffic flow such as extending rush hour parking and turn restrictions

priority lanes to ensure reliable travel times for transit riders and Olympic athletes, officials and the media

reduction of vehicle traffic in the downtown area.

As a world leader in sustainable transportation, the City is actively encouraging measures to reduce vehicle traffic by increasing the use of sustainable transportation options such as walking, biking, public transit and carpooling as alternatives to single-occupancy vehicle travel.

Upcoming meetings will help form the City’s recommended approach to 2010 Winter Games transportation planning. This approach will contribute to the comprehensive 2010 Winter Games transportation plan, to be presented in late February or early March 2009. Following the release of the plan, a public education program will be launched to ensure that everyone knows the best options for local travel in Vancouver.

For more information, visit the “Getting Around” section of the Host City website at vancouver.ca. View maps of changes to City’s road network. (2.8 mb)

The 2010 Winter Games transportation plan is being developed by the following Games partners and transportation agencies as part of the Olympic and Paralympic Transportation Team (OPTT): Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC); the City of Vancouver, the Resort Municipality of Whistler; TransLink, BC Transit, Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure; and the Vancouver 2010 Integrated Security Unit.

Media enquiries:

City of Vancouver
Corporate Communications
604-871-6336

Vancouver 2010 Integrated Security Unit
Media Relations
604-247-8600

VANOC
Media Relations
604-403-1611

TransLink
Communications
604-453-4606

FACTSHEET

Transportation Planning for 2010

Key Facts

During the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games 4,000 athletes,10,000 media, 25,000 volunteers and more than a quarter of a million visitors are expected.

The number of trips by all modes—walking, cycling, taking transit and driving—to and within the downtown during the 2010 Winter Games period is expected to increase by 130,000 or 30 per cent over a 24 hour period.

Vancouver has the second smallest proportion of people taking cars to work in Canada, after Montreal with only 40 per cent of people driving to work downtown each day.

Walking trips currently make up 27 per cent of all trips to downtown and 65 per cent of all trips entirely within the downtown core. In Vancouver, a larger proportion of people get to work by walking than in cities like Montreal, Seattle, Toronto or Portland.

Over 100,000 residents live and 13,000 hotel rooms are currently located within walking distance (20 to 30 minutes) of two downtown stadiums and two City Live Sites.

Bike trips currently make up 2,700 trips into downtown each morning – equivalent to 40 full buses.

Games-time operations will reduce the capacity of the local road network to the downtown by 50 per cent from the east, and overall by 20 per cent.

VANOC will be operating a fleet of approximately 2,300 vehicles and over 1,000 motor coaches as well as a region-wide park-and-ride system.

For the 2010 Winter Games, the City of Vancouver will:

Reallocate road space to develop enhanced walking routes during the Games period for up to 25 blocks.
Develop temporary Games-time bike routes and parking.
Provide improved wayfinding and signage for pedestrians and cyclists.

Traffic flow adjustments

Maximize use of streets for pedestrian and vehicle traffic.
Extend rush hour parking and turn restrictions for up to 650 blocks.
Adjust signal coordination.
Request traffic authority staff at key locations.

Priority lanes

Develop priority lanes for 125 blocks for TransLink buses and VANOC motor coaches to allow Olympic-accredited fleet vehicles to travel in these lanes.

Transit capacity improvements (led by TransLink)

Transit trips have increased by 20 per cent in the last decade. To meet demand in 2010 and beyond, TransLink improvements include:

The new Canada Line, which will accommodate approximately 5,400 passengers per hour.
Additional 48 SkyTrain cars which will result in a 30 per cent increase in capacity during peak periods.
A third SeaBus.
Approximately 180 additional transit buses during the Olympic Winter Games.

The City of Vancouver is also adding the new Olympic Line modern streetcar demonstration project during Games time, which will run free of charge between Granville Island and the Olympic Village Canada Line station at Cambie and West 2nd.

Reducing vehicle traffic

A 25-35 per cent reduction in local vehicular traffic to and from downtown Vancouver is required during the Games period to maintain flexibility and contingency in the City’s road network.

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