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If you’re in the Metro Vancouver area, you can find anything from dining, to shopping and other events. There’s lots to see and do in Vancouver, and you’ll find some of it here.

Olympic Road Closures

Frederick • January 14th, 2010 • Local

Olympic Clock counting down the days left

As the Winter Olympics draw closer, a number of streets in and around downtown Vancouver will be closed off or limited to authorized vehicles. The closures are expected to cause commuter headaches for those who live or work in the downtown core. Many streets will have parking restrictions in effect, so the best bet would be to take public transit. TransLink will have extra buses, run longer trains on the Expo and Millennium Lines and have increased frequency on the Canada Line and West Coast Express. More information on travel options and restrictions are available on the TravelSmart 2010 web site.

Closed Streets – No traffic or pedestrian access

Waterfront Road – Between the Vancouver Convention Centre and Crab Park
January 27^th to March 1^st, 2010
Dunsmuir Viaduct – Between Beatty Street and Gore Avenue
February 5^th to March 2^nd, 2010
Georgia Viaduct – Between Beatty Street and Gore Avenue
February 5^th to March 2^nd, 2010
Expo Boulevard – Between Smithe Street and Quebec Street
January 29^th to March 2^nd, 2010
Pacific Boulevard – Between Cambie Street and Quebec Street
January 29^th to March 2^nd, 2010
Renfrew Street – Between East Hastings Street and McGill Street
January 24^th to March 1^st, 2010
West 1st Avenue – Between Cambie Street and Quebec Street
November 1^st, 2009 to March 31^st, 2010

Olympic Lanes – Limited to public transit and authorized vehicles
February 4^th to March 1^st, 2010

Burrard Street – Between Burrard Street Bridge and Cordova Street
Seymour Street – Between Granville Street Bridge and Cordova Street
Howe Street – Between Granville Street Bridge and Cordova Street
Pender Street – Between Beatty Street and Howe Street
Cambie Street – Between Cambie Street Bridge and West 59th Avenue
Broadway – Between Arbutus Street and Commercial Drive
Georgia Street – Between Richards Street and Stanley Park Causeway
Hastings Street – Between Richards Street and Boundary Road

Pedestrian Streets – No traffic from 12:00 pm PST to 12:00 am PST
February 12^th to 28^th, 2010

Granville Street – Between Davie Street and Cordova Street
Robson Street – Between Beatty Street and Jervis Street
Hamilton Street – Between Drake Street and Georgia Street
Beatty Street – Between Smithe Street and Dunsmuir Street

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Free rides on TransLink for New Year’s Eve

Frederick • December 28th, 2009 • Local

SkyTrain at Commercial Drive

TransLink will be offering free rides on New Year’s Eve, starting at 8:00 pm PST, Thursday, December 31^st until end of service.

The Expo and Millennium Lines will extend their service by an hour, with the last train leaving at 2:16 am PST. The Canada Line’s last train will be at 2:05 am PST towards YVR-Airport and 2:15 am PST towards Richmond-Brighouse.

Service and fares will run on the Sunday/Holiday schedule for Friday, January 1^st 2010.

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Turnstiles in transit

Frederick • December 17th, 2009 • Local

SkyTrain at Waterfront Station

Starting next year, TransLink will be installing faregates at all SkyTrain, Canada Line, West Coast Express and SeaBus stations. At the same time, smart card technology, with reloadable cards, will be set up making it easier to take transit.

The smart cards will be the same size as a credit card and include a microchip that will contain the card’s total value. These cards can be loaded in person, over the phone or using the web. Similar technology exists in Seattle using the ORCA card or the Chicago Card/Chicago Card Plus in Chicago.

The project is expected to take request for proposals in early 2010, with work starting later in the year. TransLink expects the system to be fully functional in 2013. The Province of British Columbia, Government of Canada and TransLink will be funding the upgrades and installations, which has been given a budget of $171 million.

Currently, TransLink uses an honour system, where passengers purchase a fare and board without having to go through turnstiles. Fare checks are performed randomly on SkyTrain and the Canada Line by TransLink staff or transit police officers.

Source: TransLink

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Get those shovels ready

Frederick • December 10th, 2009 • Local

Snow falling

Environment Canada is predicting the first snow to start falling as early as Friday. The forecast calls for the white stuff on Saturday, Sunday and Monday before milder temperatures turn some of it to rain.

Earlier this year, the Vancouver area experienced a heavier than usual dump of snow which made side streets impassible and left many vehicles stranded for days.

The City of Vancouver will plow all streets, including the smaller side streets, in addition to the main roads. Residents are also being asked to keep sidewalks in front of their homes clear — there’s a $2,000 fine for building/apartment complex owners if the sidewalk isn’t cleared by 10:00 am.

Source: The Vancouver Sun

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More taxes on parking and driving

Frederick • December 7th, 2009 • Local, News

Vancouver-area residents are expected to be hit with additional taxes starting January 1^st, 2010. Commuters will be paying extra for parking as well as filling up at the pump as TransLink tries to raise $150 million towards its operating budget.

The parking tax will remain until the new HST comes into effect on July 1^st, 2010. After that, the tax will be merged into the HST and then given back to TransLink. The gas tax will add three cents to the current price at the pump.

Source: The Vancouver Sun

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Bright Nights in Stanley Park

Frederick • December 5th, 2009 • Local, Photography

Polar Bear in the park

If you’re in Vancouver, head on down to Stanley Park for the 12^th annual Bright Nights in Stanley Park. Firefighters from Metro Vancouver and throughout British Columbia have setup almost two million Christmas lights around the famous train and Children’s Farmyard to bring out the Christmas spirit. There’s live music, face painting, and snacks to keep you warm.

Entry to the event is free, but tickets are required to ride the train and enter the farmyard. Visit the official web site for pricing and further information. Donations are welcome and proceeds go to the BC Professional Fire Fighters’ Burn Fund.

If you can’t make it, check out our gallery from the event. There are over fifty colourful photographs of the lights and displays.

Bright Nights in Stanley Park is open from 3:00 pm to 10:00 pm PST and runs until January 2^nd, 2010.

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More SkyTrain track work

Frederick • November 8th, 2009 • Local, Trains

SkyTrain at Waterfront Station

TransLink will be replacing some of the rails on the track just west of the New Westminster station this month. This work will only be done during the weekends of the 7^th to 8^th, 14^th to 15^th and 21^st to 22^nd with one track out of service at a time.

Expo Line trains will be running on single platforms from the 22^nd Street station to the New Westminster Station. Millennium Line trains will run from VCC-Clark to Columbia during this period. TransLink advises passengers to plan for delays during the work.

Rail replacement starts on Friday night and will continue until the following Monday morning.

More information is available on TransLink’s web site.

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2010 streetcar service

Frederick • October 19th, 2009 • Local, Trains

Canadian aerospace and rail manufacturer Bombardier, has teamed up with the City of Vancouver to offer an alternative transportation option during the 2010 Winter Olympics and Paralympic games – the aptly named Olympic Line.

A 1.8 km line of existing track, stretching from Granville Island to the Olympic Village Canada Line station, will feature Bombardier Flexity streetcars, which are on loan from the Brussels Transport Company in Brussels, Belgium. The streetcars have low floors which make boarding and alighting much easier, especially for those with strollers or in wheelchairs.

The streetcar service will operate 18 hours a day, 7 days a week, starting on January 21^st, 2010 and run until March 21^st, 2010.

Additional information on the streetcars, maps and media are available on Bombardier’s web site.

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SkyTrain service change in downtown Vancouver

Frederick • October 13th, 2009 • Local, News, Trains

Beginning on October 14^th 2009, TransLink will be performing repair work in the Dunsmuir Tunnel on the route used by Expo and Millennium Line SkyTrains, to address water seeping into the 77 year old tunnel. This work is scheduled to be completed by December 11^th, 2009

Starting at 9:45 PM PDT until the end of service, trains headed to Waterfront will stop at the Stadium-Chinatown Station. A shuttle train has been setup to run on the outbound track and will stop at Granville, Burrard and Waterfront Stations running on 12 minute intervals.

TransLink recommends taking an extra 15 or 20 minutes during travel during this time. SkyTrain Attendants will be available to assist during the service changes.

SkyTrain service will be running at normal levels on October 28^th, November 5^th, and November 11^th, 2009. Canucks fans may experience some minor delays as the work also falls on a number of home games at GM Place.

Full details are available on the TransLink web site.

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Google Maps Streetview comes to Canada

Frederick • October 7th, 2009 • Local, News

After a lengthy wait, Google Maps streetview is now available in select Canadian cities. Vancouver, Banff, Calgary, Kitchener, Hamilton, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Quebec City, and Halifax are now viewable online including most major and side streets. Canada finally joins the United States, United Kingdom, France, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and other European nations who use the streetview service.

Google Maps streetview is great tool when trying to confirm a restaurant location or want to see if there’s bank or other point of interest near your destination.

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