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Pique'n'yer interest

Take a deep breath...

Last week the Resort Municipality of Whistler sent out a press release explaining which forest service roads and backcountry areas would be off limits for security and various logistical reasons during the Games. Some of it made sense - I don't think anybody expected the Interpretive Forest Trails and roads surrounding the athletes' village to remain open or the back roads into the Callaghan Valley.

But I was taken by surprise by a map that showed that the Microwave Tower Road further north of the athletes' village was also closed, the Cheakamus Lake entrance into Garibaldi Park, as well as "all roads/trails near Cheakamus Lake Road." In capital block letters a legend on the map proclaims that "THIS ENTIRE AREA IS CLOSED," indicating the trails above and surrounding Spring Creek.

That was news to me, except that it apparently wasn't. I made inquiries and was told that this was announced way back in October (although nobody at Pique can remember seeing that information at the time, which is not surprising given the huge quantity of Olympic-related information that we've been asked to absorb in the last few months).

To date I've had one piece of advice for locals stressed about driving their kids to daycare and picking up groceries, about the lack of parking in the village, about the seemingly senseless cones/markers on the highway, about any of the other inconveniences big and small that we have no choice but to absorb: take a deep breath. All the information is out there, I tell people, and we've had months to get used to it and to plan around these obstacles. The Olympics are coming and then they'll be gone. Might as well enjoy it.

Then I got caught with my literal pants figuratively down. Let the whinging begin:

Closing all the trails to the south of Spring Creek means that I won't be able to take the Spring Creek connector trail to work in Function Junction - pretty much my only option to get to work given there's still no southbound transit service from Spring Creek and the fact that the highway will no longer be pedestrian-friendly with three lanes of traffic. I used to be able to walk to work along the other side of the barrier on the west side of the highway but after the upgrades of last fall the barriers have been pushed back to the edge and the open area is only a foot or two wide in some areas with a steep drop into the wetland. With a crown of snow piled on the other side of the barrier it's completely impassible.

Which leaves me with exactly one option - taking a bus northbound to the Tamarisk turnoff, crossing the highway at a section with no crosswalk or traffic lights and taking another bus south to Function Junction. Even with buses running every seven minutes or so I'm not looking forward to this in the slightest. I hate the idea of having to take two buses to cover about 600 metres of highway. I hate the fact that I can't walk, something I do to clear my head and pretty much the only exercise that I get in an average day. I hate having to take my own advice.

Relax. Breathe.

It's only for a month, I tell myself, before things go back to normal. Six weeks, tops. Two months or longer in some cases, but that's the absolute limit - except for those inconveniences that have already kicked in and will stay inconvenient until late March.

It's really not so bad in the grand scheme of things. Imagine living outside of London where you're not allowed to drive into the city anymore unless you pay a heavy toll, or Vancouver where it can take half an hour to drive a few kilometres depending on the time of day. Pay parking, which will be extended to the day skier lots this summer, was always on the books and inevitable.

For too long we've taken our mobility for granted, and assumed, wrongly, that we will always have the ability to drive where and when we want. Yet things change. The population in Sea to Sky is expected to double by 2030 - what will that do to your commute from Pemberton or Squamish? There's already gridlock through Whistler during rush hour and on powder days, and there's no reason to expect that to improve.

When it comes to the Sea to Sky Highway Improvement Project everyone is raving about how much faster the drive is now but there's still only the Lions Gate and Ironworkers Memorial bridges into Vancouver. And how fast will the highway really be when dozens of developers build thousands of new homes in Squamish, Britannia, Furry Creek and West Vancouver? The southbound drive through Whistler is already a nightmare on a Sunday afternoon, a reason frequently given for buying at Rainbow - what will it be like when 1,200-plus residents and athletes are living at Cheakamus Crossing year-round?

If nothing else the Games are a wake up call to all of us that changes are coming to the way we move around, no matter what. The best thing to do is get used to it.