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Countdown: 64 weeks until the opening of the 2010 Winter Olympics 2010 Gold Rush: Bob Mackin The root of the word legacy is the Latin legatus, or “person delegated.” There simply were not enough persons signed up to be delegates for the Legacy Lives 2009 convention. So the January 26 to 30 Hyatt Regency gathering was quietly cancelled during the first week of November. Was it the first of many meetings and conferences to be cancelled by the recession or just a pothole on the road to 2010? Only 30 delegates and five exhibitors had registered for an event that was supposed to be the unofficial start of a month of one-year countdown festivities. It was also going to be the highlight of 2010 Legacies Now’s calendar. The quasi-governmental host organization was chosen by London, England-based organizer pmpLEGACY and the event was supposed to be an example of the B.C. government’s Olympic alliance with London 2012. More than 400 delegates were supposed to attend, including representatives from Olympic, FIFA World Cup, Pan American and Commonwealth Games’ organizing committees and bid cities.
Some of the sessions will be rolled into the March 29 to 31 8th World Conference on Sport and Environment, a United Nations/International Olympic Committee collaboration at the Vancouver Convention Centre. That comes just days after the Denver-hosted SportAccord gathering for 100 international sport federations and the IOC. Border lines The first Pacific NorthWest Economic Region state of the border report card will be presented February 24 in Washington, D.C. That’s just four days before the one-year countdown to the close of the 2010 Winter Olympics, but B.C. solicitor general and PNWER president John van Dongen thinks there is still time to make changes on the 49th parallel. The Border Policy Research Institute of Western Washington University offered its preliminary research on border trends to a PNWER roundtable chaired by van Dongen during the Canadian American Business Council on November 12 at the Four Seasons Hotel. Four million cars passed through southbound crossings at Blaine, Lynden and Sumas in 2007, down 2.5 million from the peak in 1996. Border volumes corresponded with the value of the Canadian dollar until 2001 when post-9-11 security fears drastically cut cross-border travel. BPRI said there are 11 southbound and eight northbound lanes with 24 southbound and 29 northbound booths at Cascade corridor crossings, but more research needs to be done on wait times. For now, professor Don Alper urged federal governments on both sides to “act rapidly and decisively” to boost staffing at peak times and ensure ease of access for low-risk travellers during the 2010 Winter Olympics. Pre-clearance, pre-screening and streamlined processing are suggested remedies. The Washington state radio chip-embedded, enhanced driver’s licence is held by 33,000 people as a passport substitute for crossing by land or water. B.C. will follow beginning May 1. “We want security, but we want a speeded-up process,” said PNWER executive director Matt Morrison. “There are two new governments and an economic crisis that demands action.” A 2007 U.S. Department of Homeland Security report to Congress on the 2010 Games estimated 287,782 people would travel to the Games from the U.S. That includes 30,030 from as far south as San Francisco. Another 15,694 would drive north in rental cars after flying to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. Traffic volumes are expected to be 25% higher than in summer. In August 2006, peak southbound lineups were 57 minutes at the Peace Arch. During PNWER’s annual convention in July in Vancouver, Transport Canada Pacific region director Blake Delgaty said it would be like “a busy summer Saturday” during the Games. Olympic vacations VANOC CEO John Furlong made a plea to the Vancouver Board of Trade during his annual “state of VANOC” speech for downtown offices to open earlier and close earlier, and encourage workers to telecommute or take vacation during the Games. It’s a strategy that succeeded in both Sydney and Salt Lake City. Will you change your ways during the Games to catch the Games’ spirit or avoid traffic jams? Please send me your thoughts. •
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Business in Vancouver November 18-25, 2008; issue 995 |
