December 28, 2009

BRADLEY FEHR

During the Olympics, road closures will be enforced for the area around BC Place and GM Place.

Stantec adjusts operations for Vancouver Olympics

RICHARD GILBERT

staff writer

Construction companies with their main offices in Vancouver’s downtown core have examined how their operations may be affected by road closures and other restrictions during the 2010 Olympic Games and developed contingency plans.

Fortunately, many Vancouver-area contractors are based in outlying communities like Burnaby and Richmond, with relatively few in the city itself, said Keith Sashaw, president of the Vancouver Regional Construction Association.

According to Sashaw , the VRCA is conducting a survey of their members to determine the impact of the Olympics.

“Not a lot of companies are taking special steps,” he said. “To be prepared for contingencies, companies must know which roads are closed and if they are having meetings downtown.”

In terms of Olympic events and activities, the Vancouver office of Stantec is located at ground zero.

The company has 400 employees working out of its office at the corner of Dunsmuir and Beatty Street, adjacent to Vancouver’s LiveCity Downtown Celebration Site and very close to venues such as BC Place and GM Place.

“Our company has been looking at planning for nine months and the big emphasis has been put on encouraging as many staff members as possible to not drive into work,” said Stantec managing senior principal Michael Kennedy.

“About a quarter of the people still do.”

The Vancouver 2010 Integrated Security Unit has enforced road closures for the entire area around the Vancouver Athletes Village, Pacific Boulevard east of Cambie Bridge, ring roads around BC Place and GM Place, part of Renfrew Street at Hastings Park and Canada Place, and Waterfront Road around the Vancouver Convention & Exhibition Centre.

Olympic organizers predict thousands of visitors, athletes and officials from countries around the world will be coming to Vancouver and Whistler for the 2010 Olympic Games in February.

The capacity of the local road network will be reduced by 20 per cent to transport these people efficiently throughout Vancouver.

Vehicle traffic into Vancouver and bridges crossing the Burrard Inlet will also be reduced by a minimum of 30 per cent.

“We are formally changing our office hours to 6:30 a.m. to 2:30 a.m., but people can work whatever hours they want,” said Kennedy.

“We have been advised by (Olympic organizers) and the RCMP to expect the normal rush hour to carry on through the morning as events start at GM Place. There will then be a lull in the early afternoon.”

Spectators will be coming to events during the regular rush hour period, so people working downtown have been advised to travel into Vancouver before 7 a.m. or after 9 a.m. and leave by 2 p.m. or after 7 p.m.

“A lot of our staff have laptops, so people are being encouraged to work from home,” said Kennedy. Current traffic and parking restrictions will be extended to 24 hours a day, seven days a week in key downtown Vancouver areas.

The implementation of these street limitations began on Jan. 1

“We are also looking at more subtle things,” said Kennedy. “We are subtly increasing security in the building and all staff have an ID card to have access to the building. We have also asked people to not have meetings at the downtown office.”

Kennedy said the company has also stockpiled some critical supplies, because businesses in the downtown core must have all deliveries scheduled between midnight and 6 a.m. in February.“We found that people are buying into the fact that we have done a lot of planning and thinking on this issue,” he said.

“We are prepared to be flexible, because this event could take over the city in an incredibly positive way, or it could have some really negative impacts.”

“This is not just a big imposition,” Kennedy said.

“We have a major international event just across the street. We see this as a tremendous opportunity to have a great deal of fun with clients and staff.”

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