Taking transit to Celebration of Lights
July 19, 2010
Once again this year, the Celebration of Lights will light up the sky over the city of Vancouver on July 21, 24, 28 and 31. With literally tens of thousands of people gathering for the spectacular on the shores of English Bay and motor vehicle traffic severely restricted in the West End, public transit is again the best option.
Coast Mountain Bus Company will re-route its services away from the West End. As of 7:30pm, buses that normally travel into the West End will go no further than Burrard and Davie; the #5 Robson will go as far as Robson and Denman and then return via Denman and Georgia. Note that there will be no eastbound service on Robson Street.
Starting at 9pm, #22 Macdonald/Knight will avoid Burrard Bridge and Cornwall Avenue altogether, using 4th Avenue between Granville Bridge and Macdonald in both directions.
Additional buses will be staged at Bridgeport SkyTrain Station to handle crowds coming off the Canada Line: these will supplement service as deemed necessary by transit supervisors on the scene.
West Vancouver Transit will stage approximately 15 additional buses along Georgia near Denman, to be used as required.
SkyTrain Expo and Millennium Lines service will operate at rush hour levels from late afternoon throughout the evening on each date until crowds are cleared after the event. The last Expo Line train will leave Waterfront at 1:16am, however, we will run additional trains if necessary to make sure that all customers already in the station at that time are able to get home.
SkyTrain Canada Line will operate at rush-hour levels from late afternoon throughout the evening on each date of the fireworks.
To prevent “seat-camping”, there will be no pickups on inbound trains between Stadium-Chinatown and Waterfront Stations (Expo/Millennium Lines) and between Yaletown-Roundhouse and Waterfront Stations (Canada Line); inbound Canada Line passengers will be required to get off at Yaletown-Roundhouse.
Customers who don’t already have a FareCard or FareSaver are encouraged to pre-purchase their return fare prior to the event. This will avoid long lineups at ticket vending machines afterwards and facilitate boarding. Portable fareboxes wil be set up at:
- Granville
- Burrard
- Bridgeport (before the event only)
- Yaletown-Roundhouse
- Vancouver City Centre
- Waterfront – Canada Line and Howe Street Entrance (after the event)
There will be no access to Waterfront Station through the main entrance on Cordova Street except for persons with wheelchairs or strollers and the only access to Granville Station after 10pm will be through the Dunsmuir Street entrance.
Cyclists riding the train should arrive early, and bikes will not be allowed on any SkyTrain line leaving downtown Vancouver from 10pm until the lineups have cleared, which may be as late as 1am. Transit staff and police may restrict bikes at any time in any direction, depending on crowd conditions on the trains. This is for the safety and comfort of all our passengers.
SeaBus will put all three vessels into operation for the evening, providing 10-minute service from 6:30pm until 12:45am; then every 15 minutes until the final departure from Waterfront station at 1:31am.
West Coast Express will run a special train for the finale, Saturday, July 31, leaving Mission City at 7pm and returning from Waterfront at 12:00am (midnight).
Transit police will be out in force to assist jurisdictional police in keeping order, paying particular attention to transit services, making sure that people of all ages are able to have a good time safely and securely. Transit Police will enforce a zero-tolerance policy for alcohol and drugs on transit vehicles.
The annual Celebration of Lights is one of Metro Vancouver’s marquee attractions, and TransLink is pleased to provide creative service levels to help keep it that way. It’s also most fun for the whole family when people enjoy themselves responsibly. Please remember to “pack out what you pack in” so that the cleanup afterwards goes just as well as the event itself.