There will be several road restrictions associated with Olympic competition events, including:
· Whistler Way will be closed to public access directly adjacent to the media centre at the conference centre.
· There will be restricted access to Sunshine Place, Cornerstone Building and the conference centre parkade.
· Conference Centre Parking Lot A and Whistler Golf Course clubhouse parking will be closed to the pubic.
· There will be traffic pattern changes at the Gateway Loop and Main Street intersection.
· There will be one-way traffic on Blackcomb Way from Sundial Crescent to Glacier Drive during peak travel times.
· There will be access restriction at Blackcomb Way at the Celebration Plaza and Glacier Drive and Glacier Lane.
· Parking day lots 1 through 5 will be turned into a transportation mall for all of February.
· Day lots 6, 7, 8 will be used by VANOC as part of its sliding centre operations.
· At Creekside the parkade will be closed to the public.
· London Lane will be closed to the public in front of Legends.
· Bus load/unload zones at Creekside will be along Highway 99 on the parkade side.
· There will be one-way traffic on Taylor Way/Lake Placid Road to Nita Lake Lodge at peak travel times. There will also be access restrictions and a vehicle check point in this area.
· Roadside parking restrictions in neighbourhoods will be enforced at all times.
Pedestrians will be able to access all of the shops along Franz's Trail including the Creekside Market, but people will not be able to park to do their shopping.
Olympic organizers are talking with private carriers to make sure that other bus services are available for those who want to come to Whistler to ski for the day or for people in the corridor travelling to Vancouver to see events or shop. Vancouver-bound spectators can also drive to transit points in the city and park and ride. Vancouver transit is free with a valid Olympic ticket on the day of travel.
The Ministry of Transportation is also updating plans on the use of ferry terminals at Porteau Cove and Darryl Bay just in case the highway is closed due to weather events or a landslide, as happened for four days last summer.
The ferries could carry cars and buses, but they would be used to transport essential services only. Olympic spectators would simply not be able to get to Whistler. VANOC has plans in place to have enough essential workers living in and around the Whistler venues to host the events even if cut off from Vancouver.
A pubic open house on the transportation plan will be held March 16 at the Westin from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.
There will also be two more updates on the plan, which is about 80 per cent complete. One will be later this summer and one will follow in the fall.
