Getting around the gridlock
The Globe and Mail
By Mark Hume, The Globe and Mail Posted Tuesday, February 2, 2010
9:59 PM ET
 
 
Olympic organizers are urging commuters to abandon their cars soon
or face weeks of gridlock, as a plan to reduce Vancouver traffic by
30 per cent in time for the start of the Games is falling far short
of targets.
 
VANOC had hoped to see a 20-per-cent reduction in traffic by last
Friday - instead a drop of only 4 per cent took place.
 
The target for this Friday, when the last of several incremental
road closings will be rolled out, is a 25-per-cent reduction. And
the end goal is to have 30-per-cent fewer local vehicles on the road
by Friday, Feb. 12, opening day for the Games.
 
"We are concerned ... We need some more help in terms of people
being able to get out of their cars," Dale Bracewell, director of
Olympic transportation for Vancouver, said tuesday as the city
unveiled its new traffic control centre.
 
Mr. Bracewell said he's hopeful by next week a critical mass of
commuters will respond to appeals to abandon their vehicles in
favour of transit, walking and cycling.
 
But with the start of the Games a little more than a week away, and
with buses soon starting to shuttle athletes around the city, the
numbers don't look good and the time to effect change is short.
 
"The [dedicated] Olympic lanes go into effect this Thursday ... for
VANOC accredited vehicles, TransLink buses and emergency vehicles,"
said Mr. Bracewell. "And it starts this Thursday because that's the
day athletes will start moving from the athletes' village out to all
of the competition venues, including the training facilities ... so
it's important to be able to support those Olympic movements."
 
Mr. Bracewell said despite the dismal commuter response so far,
there are some encouraging signs.
 
For example, the volume of traffic during rush hour last Friday was
down by 13 per cent, indicating some people shifted their commuting
times to other periods of the day.
 
That was one of the suggestions the Vancouver Olympic organizing
committee made when it launched its TravelSmart 2010 Challenge - a
communications campaign mounted over a five-week run up to the Games
that sought to get more and more people to avoid rush-hour commutes
and get out of their cars.
 
It had some effect, with 122,000 people riding SkyTrain's new Canada
Line last Friday, which is about 22,000 more than usual, and the
number of SeaBus passengers increasing from a typical 16,500 to
22,000.
 
"There definitely was a bump up that day," said TransLink spokesman
Ken Hardie.
 
The number of bike commuters also rose, with 3,000 cycling over
False Creek bridges last Friday, as compared to a typical weekday
that sees about 1,800 riders.
 
Despite that, the overall number of cars on the roads did not drop
significantly.
 
Each Friday, the city has incrementally increased the number of
roads affected by Olympic traffic restrictions. The last closings
are tomorrow and Friday when the Georgia and Dunsmuir Viaducts - two
major arteries that enter the city near BC Place and Canada Hockey
Place - will be shut down.
 
Last week, two other key routes, Pacific and Expo Boulevards, were
closed.
 
"One of the concerns we have at the city is that we noticed on
Friday some of the ways that people responded to Expo and Pacific
Boulevard closings was they used Georgia and Dunsmuir Viaducts as
their alternate route," said Mr. Bracewell.
 
That option will be lost in the next round of closings and commuters
will be forced to choose between alternative modes of travel or
increasingly congested streets.
 
An extensive grid of roads in the downtown core are now restricted
because of security concerns, because they have become pedestrian
corridors, or because one lane has been dedicated for use by
official Olympic traffic only.
 
Combined, the restrictions mean drivers will find it hard to drive
anywhere downtown, or to find parking once they get there.
 
Mr. Bracewell could not estimate how much travel times might
increase for those who stick with their vehicles, but he urged all
Vancouver commuters to get out of their cars.
 
"We really want to encourage everyone ... to get on transit, to walk
and cycle as early as this Friday because we absolutely need you
there to support the transportation plan for the opening ceremonies
on February 12," he said.
 
The city's new traffic management facility is monitoring conditions
with 30 intersection cameras. But the centre's flat-screen monitors
and software programs, that allow engineers to quickly adjust
traffic lights and post advisories on electronic signs, won't be
able to head off big traffic jams if the current volume of commuters
stays the same.
 
Planners say an influx of tourists, media and Olympic officials will
bring 30-per-cent more vehicles to the roads. 

Mark Hume, The Globe and Mail