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. 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 yesterday 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 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.
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 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.