I'm not a 2010 Olympics supporter, or as Eve Arden said in Grease I'm not an "athletic supporter" *LOL*
Okay that's wrong, I do support althletes but the Olympics goes beyond athletics, in my opinion. Sure it's young people's chance to compete in something really special but the whole thing has turned into a money grab for the OAC and leaves cities (Provinces, States whatever) in huge debt.
Vancouver is a huge city. The games won't be held in any one area. There are at least 3 venues. There is Whistler, north of Vancouver, for snow events such as skiing, luge, snowboarding etc. Oh, and women ski jumpers are not allowed to participate in the games. They say it's too dangerous. Horse hockey I say. They jump in other events anyways, it's what they do as althetes. To disallow them is a crime IMO.
The Hockey rink is in Downtown Vancouver proper. The skating oval for speed skating is in Richmond, south of Vancouver.
For people not staying in Whistler village there is a brand new multi-million dollar "sea to sky" highway. But cars aren't allowed on it during the Olympics. Only busses carrying people attending Olympic events. Locals have to use the older more dangerous highway still. They will benefit from the new highway after the Olympics. And the busses leave Whistler before the presentation of medals. I don't know how popular those events are but at the price people are paying for tickets it would be nice to have a chance for those from whatever country(ies) wins a medal to see it presented and support their althete.
They've legislated that 50% less cars travel into Vancovuer during the Olympics. It could get more people using transit if it wasn't for the fact that the public has been asked not to use transit during the games. My daughter's friend works for a company that has decided to just close down completely for 3 weeks to avoid hassles.
Parking on major streets is banned. Plus they've hired double the number of tow trucks so don't even think about stopping and running into 7-11 for a sandwich. For those streets with parking meters it will now cost $6 an hour to park. And that won't change once the Olympics are over. You could use a public parking lot or parking garage. It's only $16 a day, approximately, but they've added a 21% tax onto that. That also applies to monthly parking passes AND to parking lots for visitors at hospitals. That's sick.
People who are unable to attend for some reason may sell their tickets to events but only on a special website put up by the Olympic Committee. They have to pay 10% up front and 10% once the ticket sells. Tickets for the final hockey game are selling at $15,000 a piece. And no one knows which countries will be playing!
I guess what bothers me most about it is all the money going into venues for the Games, which last only 3 weeks, means cuts to other things. Seniors programs that cost maybe $10,000 a year have been axed to add that money to the millions the Province has spent. Seniors in residences will no longer have free access to wheelchairs and walkers. We have a HUGE homeless problem which has been going on for years and is getting worse with this economy. Many of these homeless people need to be in medical facilities because they suffer from things such as Schizophrenia and Paranoia. But their hospital was closed down a few years ago and they were all put out on the street. Now for 3 weeks during the Olympics they are going to be rounded up and housed in that same building so they don't sully Vancouver's image. This is mostly against their will. They feel safer on the streets.
Oh, and I forgot. We have a new Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) coming into effect on July 1. Everything will be taxed 14%. This includes things which were previously tax exempt.. children's clothing, school supplies, books, food. I like to support local business but with a tax like that I'll probably shop even more online in Provinces that don't have the HST and in the States. With shipping it may cost as much but it's just my way of contributing to the "don't want it" population. We weren't asked, we were told. There are petitions against it and I have signed but I have little hope anything will change.
Guess I better shut up now. Thankfully we live outside of greater Vancouver and as long as we stay home during the time the games are on they won't affect us aside from the pocket book. We're going to be paying for years for this through our income taxes. And the burden won't stop with us, it will be passed onto our children and grandchildren. The Province is very far in debt.
I will watch the games cause I always do. I like the ski jumping, skating and curling the best. But I'll be snuggled up on the couch in a quilt while I watch.
