VANOC : 400,000 Additional Cars Expected on Road by 2010

VANOC and the City of Vancouver expect roughly 400,000 more car trips during the 2010 Olympics. This figure is technically only about 15% more trips than normal for the City which normally has about 3M trips per day. The Greater Vancouver Metro Area normally sees about 6 million trips per day.

One thing to note is that the increased traffic will likely be centered around venues and the downtown area which could increase the percentage traffic increase in local areas.

Here's some highlights of VANOC's plans to deal with the increased traffic:

• There will be no parking at Olympic venues. Everyone attending will have to travel by bus.
• The Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games will operate an almost parallel bus system that will essentially double TransLink's bus fleet on Vancouver roads.
• There will be dedicated bus services from downtown Vancouver to ski venues such as Cypress Mountain and Whistler.
• At certain hours, the Sea-to-Sky Highway will be a bus-only route, although the road will not be completely closed to local traffic.
• Vancouver will clamp down on residents of the Hastings Park area who usually rent out their yards for parking during big events.
• Some traffic arteries in the city will have Olympics-only traffic lanes.
• Simon Fraser University and the University of B.C. will shift and extend their spring breaks to coincide with the Games, reducing traffic and freeing up capacity on TransLink buses and SkyTrain.

Full article from Vancouver Sun here.