limits by more than quarter of a million visitors and 10,000 media and 55,000 VANOC members and volunteers serving the needs of the Olympic basic functions (Bracewell, 2009). For example, the City anticipated a 30% increase in the number of trips to Downtown. At the same time, during the 17 days of the Games, the City expected a 20% decrease in road capacity due to the closure of many streets around the main Olympic venues for security purposes (Bracewell, 2009). Vancouver managed to use the constraints of the Games’ logistics as an opportunity to meet the Olympic transportation needs with zero additional cars (Laclaire, personal communication, February 14, 2012). Furthermore, the City saw the Olympics as an opportunity to experiment with sustainable transportation behavior shifts beyond the goals established before the Games (Toderian, 2010). To meet the zero car challenge, the City developed the Host City Olympic Transportation Plan (HCOTP), whose main goals were to: 1) ensure reliable travel arrangements for the Games; 2) maintain a functioning urban city; 3) promote sustainable modes of transportation; and 4) leave a legacy of longer term sustainable transportation behavior. The plan included dedicated pedestrian corridors in the City Downtown, traffic reduction measures, bike route network and secure bike parking facilities, a free streetcar demonstration project, road closures, restricted parking, and expanded transit service (Bracewell, 2009). Realizing that the success of the HCOTP hinged entirely on the experience of citizens, visitors and businesses, the City provided the public with timely and accurate information about the Olympic transportation arrangements. In 2008-2009, the City was regularly holding public information sessions to keep citizens and stakeholders informed about its transportation plans and hear their concerns (Bracewell, 2009). The City was also working with stakeholder groups including Business Improvement Association group, Vancouver Board of Trade, the Business Coordinating Committee, Smart Growth BC, Vancouver Cycling Coalition, utilities, event industry companies and others to discuss potential street use limitations during the Games-time (Bracewell, 2009). To achieve the HCOTP goals and influence people’s travel behavior, in 2008, the City launched TravelSmart 2010 Challenge communications campaign to “encourage incremental reductions in vehicle traffic to Downtown as road closures and transit service increases were put into place before the Games began.” (Bracewell, 2009). In other words, the City sent a strong message to Vancouver’s residents and businesses: “You shouldn’t drive your car during the Games because there would be no place to park it. Take transit. Period” (Laclaire, personal communication, February 14, 2012). The citizens were constantly reminded that spectator car parking would not be available at venues and that their event tickets included the use of public transport (Laclaire, personal communication, February 14, 2012; Bracewell, 2009). Stakeholder engagement, coordination and cooperation were critical in developing and implementing the HCOTP. The plan was executed by multiple partners, including the City of Vancouver transportation and engineering staff, VANOC, B.C. Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure, BCTransit29, Translink30, Resort Municipality of Whistler, and the Vancouver 2010 Integrated Security Office (The City of Vancouver, 2010c). Representatives of each stakeholder group formed the Olympic and Paralympic 29 30
Provincial public transportation agency Metro Vancouver Regional Transportation Authority
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