As Canucks fans prepare for the biggest party since the team joined the NHL four decades ago, authorities hope that whether the team wins or loses, the city will be safe tonight.
With at least 100,000 Canucks fans descending on downtown Vancouver for Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final, special precautions are being taken on a number of fronts.
“Hopefully, we can all celebrate a victory,” said Vancouver police spokesman Const. Lindsey Houghton.
But, he said: “There’s always the potential for alcohol-fuelled violence.”
One Canucks fan got the party started downtown shortly after 10 a.m. today. Cars honked and people cheered as a young woman clad in Canucks gear waved a massive Canucks flag at the corner of Georgia and Hamilton.
Just across the street, more than 10 keen Canucks fans wait in line to enter the Library Square Public House, which opens at 11 a.m.
Private and government-run liquor stores in downtown Vancouver will close early at the request of the Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor-General.
Houghton said police will continue their “meet and greet” policy of interacting with fans that was used to control crowds during the Olympics.
“We’re a part of the crowd and we’re part of the event,” Houghton said.
“It’s way more fun, a much better experience, the night goes by quick and at the end of the day everybody’s got stories to tell.”
Houghton stressed there has been a change in the party culture since the Olympics and said there is little reason to believe there will be a riot like the one that happened after the team’s Game 7 defeat in 1994.
“That’s not a road we’re going down, the people we’re seeing [downtown], they’re in their early 20s and I think back in ’94 those people were three or four years old,” Houghton said.
“It’s a different atmosphere around here.”
Police from outside Vancouver also will be on hand to deal with the massive crowds, but Houghton wouldn’t say how many reinforcements have been called in.
“Tens of thousands of people are coming here [from the suburbs] so that’s why the [RCMP and police officers from around Metro Vancouver] are here to help us out because it’s their own people.”
An increased fleet of buses, SeaBuses and SkyTrain cars will run later than usual to get people to and from the downtown core.
TransLink spokesman Drew Snider urged people to buy return tickets to avoid lineups at SkyTrain stations after the game. Portable fare boxes will be set up before the game at King George, Stadium and Vancouver Centre SkyTrain stations, and after the game at Stadium, Vancouver Centre and Granville stations. Exact fare is required. SkyTrain will run an hour later than usual, with the last departure from Waterfront station at 2:15 a.m. Snider warned that some access to SkyTrain stations may be restricted to manage the anticipated heavy crowds. Extra buses will be on standby in downtown Vancouver, Surrey and at Bridgeport Station until 3:30 a.m., while the SeaBus will operate three ferries from 3:30 p.m. until 2:20 a.m. Two of the ferries will run on the regular schedule while the third will be used to ease heavy crowds during the night.
TransLink is preparing for the largest crowd yet tonight, but crowd size and mood will obviously depend on how the game is going.
"If it doesn't look like a Boston blowout by the second period, you're going to see a surge of people moving downtown," Snider said.
Surrey's celebration site and Burnaby's popular gathering spot near the Burnaby Public Library take some of the pressure off of downtown, he said.
West Coast Express will operate on its regular schedule, but the 4:20 p.m. departure from Waterfront will have 10 cars to accommodate the crowds heading home in time for the game.
Street closures have changed the routing for many buses, including those from the North Shore. West Vancouver customers should again board outside The Bay and stops west of that while North Vancouver customers should board at Georgia and Burrard and stops west. Trolley buses that normally use Granville Street will use Seymour and Howe. If the crowds become too heavy on Seymour, buses may be routed temporarily via Broadway, Main and Hastings, while West Vancouver customers will have to catch their bus at Georgia and Burrard. There will also be detours in Surrey around the celebration site at 72nd St. and Scott Road.
The city will close Georgia between Richards and Cambie, and Hamilton between Robson and Homer, starting at noon.
Fans are urged to spread out along the street and use the entry points to access the giant screens.
“We fully anticipate folks will be there bright and early to get a prime spot,” city spokeswoman Wendy Stewart said. “It can get very backed up along Georgia. If they could spread out a little it would make it a lot smoother for everyone.”
The city will put 60 additional garbage bins on the street after a huge mess of trash was left around the viewing sites after the past two games. Stewart noted it takes city crews a couple of hours to clear the garbage and reopen the streets.
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