Vancouver and the Stanley Cup
With Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final now over (my sincerest condolences
to Vancouver), let's take a look at the urban experience surrounding the
event, and how TransLink dealt with the crowds.
Last Friday, screens were set up in downtown Vancouver to allow fans to watch the games broadcast from Boston. The city estimates that over 70,000 fans turned out, filling the streets and businesses in the area. Although they lost the Boston games, those who came downtown to watch the home games, were reminded of the Olympics and the excited atmosphere that overtook the city. Vancouver is ideally set up for such gatherings/events and the mood of the people was, and is testament to this. Many businesses closed early to allow staff to go watch the games and restaurants/bars did their best to accommodate the lines which started forming well before the games were due to start. Again, much like the Olympics, which overtook the City not too long ago, people were encouraged to use transit, bike or walk.
The lessons learned from the Olympics enabled TransLink and the City to effectively manage massive crowds within a downtown environment. With anywhere between 100,000 - 150,000 expected to attend game 7, TransLink used the following methods to streamline access:
An article from Sports Illustrated reported that Vancouverites "woke up this morning to news reports that portrayed this beautiful city in out-of-control chaos, a sharp contrast from the goodwill engendered from its successful Olympics 16 months ago."
The riots are an unfortunate event that overshadowed the positive aspects of yesterday: that Vancouver has an wonderful urban environment that is conducive to large crowds filling the streets, coming together to cheer on their team. After the Winter Olympics last year, Chicago Tribune writer Philip Hersh said:
Although the riots will possibly affect events in the future, the passionate and generous atmosphere of Vancouver was still present throughout most of this past week. So instead of the images being focused on in newspapers and online, let's remember the Stanley Cup through the following images:
Last Friday, screens were set up in downtown Vancouver to allow fans to watch the games broadcast from Boston. The city estimates that over 70,000 fans turned out, filling the streets and businesses in the area. Although they lost the Boston games, those who came downtown to watch the home games, were reminded of the Olympics and the excited atmosphere that overtook the city. Vancouver is ideally set up for such gatherings/events and the mood of the people was, and is testament to this. Many businesses closed early to allow staff to go watch the games and restaurants/bars did their best to accommodate the lines which started forming well before the games were due to start. Again, much like the Olympics, which overtook the City not too long ago, people were encouraged to use transit, bike or walk.
The lessons learned from the Olympics enabled TransLink and the City to effectively manage massive crowds within a downtown environment. With anywhere between 100,000 - 150,000 expected to attend game 7, TransLink used the following methods to streamline access:
- asked riders to buy return tickets early (avoiding long lines after the game)
- set up portable fareboxes that required exact fare
- increased SkyTrain service to run an hour later than usual
- extra buses on standby, and extended hours
- an additional third ferry
- re-routing buses due to street closures
An article from Sports Illustrated reported that Vancouverites "woke up this morning to news reports that portrayed this beautiful city in out-of-control chaos, a sharp contrast from the goodwill engendered from its successful Olympics 16 months ago."
The riots are an unfortunate event that overshadowed the positive aspects of yesterday: that Vancouver has an wonderful urban environment that is conducive to large crowds filling the streets, coming together to cheer on their team. After the Winter Olympics last year, Chicago Tribune writer Philip Hersh said:
"One cannot overlook the passion and
general goodwill of the people who both put on the Games and celebrated
them until all hours in a city that never before had allowed itself
such continuous, unrestrained fun."
Although the riots will possibly affect events in the future, the passionate and generous atmosphere of Vancouver was still present throughout most of this past week. So instead of the images being focused on in newspapers and online, let's remember the Stanley Cup through the following images:
