Much ado is being made about the 2010 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games, that take place here in less than two weeks. Whatever side you fall on, I think transportation is something you should be paying attention to during the Games, because there are important lessons to be learned for sustainable transportation and community planning.
Whistler is already experiencing the changes that come with hosting this event, and I am a part of the municipal team that communicates the transportation plan to the public. Of interest to me, as a sustainability practitioner, is the large experiment in sustainable transportation that is about to take place during the Games.
The goal of the transportation plan is to reduce traffic volumes 30%. There is much grumbling around the measures put in place to reach this goal such as: road closures, day lot closures, and permits to get up and down the Sea to Sky Highway, to name a few. Let it be said here: it takes a lot of planning to reduce traffic volumes 30%, and even then I fear there will be much resistance from our car enamoured culture.
The opportunity here, however, is also exciting; in Whistler we will really see what a community can be like when it has unprecedented access to the transit opportunities coming online during this once in a lifetime event. Here are the details of what I am talking about:
- 135 busses will be running (we normally have 24 for our service), with over 50,000 hours of service;
- All neighbourhoods of Whistler will be serviced, with frequencies ranging from 7 minutes for most, to 30 minutes;
- Unprecedented connector service between Squamish and Whistler and Pemberton and Whistler.
What this means is that this community will get a never seen before opportunity to live life without needing their car for primary transportation needs. What I hope it does is show people what can happen if we re imagine inter and intra city transportation, with public modes coming first, over the single occupancy vehicle.
I will write more about this when service fully ramps up on February 3, and throughout the Games, to see how it is working. I, for one, think this is something to get excited about.
For more information on the full transportation plan during the Games, see:
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I think we Canadians depend on our cars too much. Time to use other forms of transportation!
On a positive thought, those crumbling may find they enjoy public
transportation. Change is necessary but takes time.