A lot has happened in the past week to change how we get around Vancouver. Lane and road closures, rolling road closures, sporadic bridge closures, travel restrictions … Phew! That’s not even including the new closures that go into effect Friday.
It’s overwhelming, so let’s go through it together. First things first. Friday at noon we will see the pedestrian corridors go into effect downtown. This means the following closures:
• Robson Street from Bute to Beatty streets
• Hamilton Street from David Lam Park to Georgia Street
• Beatty Street from Smithe to Dunsmuir
• Granville Street from Smithe to Cordova
These pedestrian corridors are in effect Friday and again on both Feb. 28 and March 12 from noon until midnight.
The Cambie Street Bridge closes again Friday at noon in preparation for the opening ceremonies and reopens at midnight.
We learned from Wednesday’s closure that Broadway and Pender, Hastings and Main streets were complete gong shows. Tempers flared as drivers tried to reroute over to the Granville or Burrard bridges.
Friday night will be even worse with thousands of people converging on B.C. Place Stadium. The people coming into the city will be staggered, but after the ceremonies, everyone will want out at the same time.
We’ve all been stuck in traffic leaving a Canucks game. Now multiply that by 10 and add the road closures, plus the LiveCity venues in that same area. Need I say more? So, what are you doing with your car? Right, leave it at home.
