Vanouver 2010 Winter Olympics: Day 8 - Transportation

One of the major successes of the games thus far has been public transits. I have seen a major improvement in the frequency of buses. My wait times, no matter what time of day, have decreased substantially. Although there are more people trying to take the Skytain, Canada Line and buses, the frequency, especially of the buses, has compensated for this. Local Vancouverites can save lots of time if they know and use the bus network instead of just relying on Canada Line and Skytrain. I hope greater appreciation for public transit is a legacy of the Olympics for Vancouver.

What the V?

I walked around downtown and noticed so much activity going on. I was surprised to see that Vancouver's waterfront has been blocked by a fence and decorated with Olympic themed material. Why was I surprised? Well, this is one of my favorite parts of Vancouver and now that it is being blocked, I think alot of people visiting the city will miss out on seeing the beautiful view from the area around Canada Place and the Convention Centre. On the positive side, the material looks fabulous.


It seems the new Fairmont Hotel is almost complete and it's ooking great.


The Olympic signage is also becoming more apparent. Olympic bus routes and maps are popping up. I think signage is essential for the success of the Olympics.

Lastly, late into the evening I noticed an artistic demonstration in a window on Seymour Street between Pender and Dunsmuir. I am uncertain who was hosting this item or if it was part of the Cultural Olympiad but it was looping and really caught my attention. All these changes are making Vancouver a more exciting place to live.

Bombardier...you have style!

A few weeks ago I was looking at City of Vancouver's Public Transit site and noticed the something called the "Olympic Line". I though the project had been an idea that never materialized. However, today Bombardier announced that on Monday it shipped two of its very cool "Flexity" light rail trams to Vancouver for the 2010 Winter Games to be used along False Creek which will arrive in December.

The trams will operate 18 hours a day, seven days a week during the Olympic and Paralympic period between Granville Island and the Vancouver Athletes Village. Best of all, it will be FREE! How great is that! Can't wait to ride it.