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Post by Kim on Jul 2, 2003 11:39:54 GMT -5
Woo hoo! ;D
We are going to Vancouver and Whistler next week and the atmosphere should be great!
Now you all can come out for the Olympics in 2010 and visit me as well!
Kim
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Post by CuriousToronto on Jul 2, 2003 16:51:46 GMT -5
Yaaayy Vancouver!  But at the same time kind of sad for Toronto!  Kim: I thought you lived in Vancouver?! Or do you live nearby. I was just going to suggest that you rent out that apartment of yours in 2010 for a bundle of money and travel the world. That is if you're not the Olympic type....... It's going to be cool I'm sure.  |
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Post by Patrick on Jul 2, 2003 19:56:15 GMT -5
This is actually good for three reasons...
1. Canada got the Olympics.
2. It is far away.
3. Toronto now won't likely get them for a long time.
Winter games should be great in Vancouver, but I don't want to see the summer games over here in Toronto anytime soon.
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Post by CuriousToronto on Jul 3, 2003 12:44:47 GMT -5
This is actually good for three reasons... 1. Canada got the Olympics. 2. It is far away. 3. Toronto now won't likely get them for a long time. Winter games should be great in Vancouver, but I don't want to see the summer games over here in Toronto anytime soon. Why don't you want the Olympics in Toronto? I think it would be REALLY good for Toronto to get the Olympics eventually. There's no doubt that the waterfront needs to be re-vitalized. Not only that but I think it would force them to improve the public transportation infrastructure. Which I think is in dire need of amelioration! |
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Post by Patrick on Jul 3, 2003 23:18:57 GMT -5
Well first of all the summer games is a whole different beast than the winter games, it's quite the production.
I personally don't want to see the city under permanent construction for a bunch of buildings and facilities that will probably go pretty much unused afterwards and are not needed. How much is this really going to cost us in the end? Look what happened to Montreal after hosting the 76 games. I believe Barcelona took a pretty decent hit after hosting the 92 games as well. So why even take the risk. If someone else is willing to host the games, by all means - I say we let them. Yes, it is only for a couple weeks, but I really don't feel the need for a huge bombardment of people in the city either.
It may seem unlikely here in Toronto, but the olympics is an event on the world stage, and unfortunately there is always the threat of violence or terrorism with so much attention focused on something such as the games. Don't really need any of this either.
And yes as you mentioned there are a lot of promises thrown out, new housing, improved transportation, new facilities, land/infrastructure improvements - but is hosting the olympics the 'only' way we can achieve these goals? I looked at the 2008 bid as just another excuse for Mel Lastman to see himself on tv. I'd like to know how much money we actually spent on the bidding process alone.
If they really wanted to fix up the ttc or build more affordable housing they would do it... the olympics shouldn't even be a factor in the equation.
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Post by CuriousToronto on Jul 4, 2003 9:13:04 GMT -5
In part I agree with you.........
Problem is the commitment is NOT there and they probably won't do it unless they are forced to i.e: via the Olympics
During the last bid there were all these promises that the waterfront would be re-developed regardless of whether we played as host or not. Those promises were obviously not kept....................
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Post by Patrick on Jul 4, 2003 11:05:33 GMT -5
not yet anyway... things run at a snails pace within the government. Kim may agree with me on that |
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Post by Kim on Jul 4, 2003 11:10:44 GMT -5
Hey, watch it bubba. I'm working as fast as I can. (But yes, I totally agree with you. ;D ) Kim |
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Post by nitsansh on Jul 18, 2003 8:49:33 GMT -5
Montreal is a totally different era as far as the Olympics are concerned. Since Seoul in 1988 every host city has gained huge benefits from it, in particular those who used the opportunity to upgrade the entire infrastructure. Yes, there are pains in the process but the gains are far beyond the Olympic time.
BTW: There's no Canadian candidate to host the Olympics in 2012, and New York might suffer from being on the same continent as the 2010 host city.
Kim: Is it realistic to stay in Victoria for the Olympics? Isn't it too far, especially from the skiing venues?
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Post by Kim on Jul 18, 2003 10:21:26 GMT -5
Depends on what you think of realistic, I guess.
Victoria is a 1.5 hour ferry ride from Vancouver. Gorgeous ride. Coming home from Whistler last weekend, there were a pod of whales right beside the boat.
Then to drive to Whistler is about another 1.5 hours with gorgeous mountain scenery. I personally love the drive so it doesn't matter that much to me.
If you have the money to stay in Whistler Village (which isn't a huge place), I would definately do it as I love the Village. But, prices are going to be OUTRAGEOUS cause accommodation there is limited.
Vancouver has lots of accommodation and would be the better choice to stay in but I have a feeling it's going to be bad too.
There is a town in the middle called Squamish but there isn't much there. I'm sure it will be appealing to some being in the middle.
I would think Vancouver would be more reasonable to stay in but you can't visit Vancouver with visiting Victoria, as it's completely different. Victoria is definately a hidden gem. You can walk to the ocean from downtown in about 15 min. and you have the ocean on one side with mountains on the other. The inner harbour is great at night with street performers and things like that.
Oh, it's interesting when we were up in Whistler last weekend - they've already started on the road work (they are going to have be expanded) and building more accommodation.. and this was just days after the annoucement!
Kim
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Post by nitsansh on Jul 18, 2003 10:53:05 GMT -5
I'm shame to say... I visited Vancouver with my mom 20 years ago (less 3 weeks...) and we didn't go to Victoria...
As far as I recall, the ferry to Vancouver Island doesn't go directly to Victoria since it's on the "other side" of the island...
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Post by Kim on Jul 18, 2003 11:13:35 GMT -5
I'm a bit confused.. the ferry (which is a massive one) definately goes to Victoria.. every hour in the summer.
There are smaller ferries that go to the rest of the Islands but the main route is from Victoria to Vancouver.
Kim
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Post by nitsansh on Jul 19, 2003 19:02:58 GMT -5
Well... either that my memory didn't serve me well this time, or the ferry lines have changed in the last 20 years...
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Post by Kim on Jul 19, 2003 19:09:07 GMT -5
It's the memory.. half the people on the island (300,000 or so) live in Victoria, it's always been like that.
It's a shame you missed it!
Kim
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Post by nitsansh on Jul 19, 2003 19:20:57 GMT -5
My map shows that the ferry line I refer to goes from Tsawwassen in south Vancouver to Swartz Bay, which is about 25KM north of downtown Victoria. Tsawwassen is also about 25KM away from downtown Vancouver.
Another ferry line is between Horseshoe Bay in north Vancouver (on the road to Squamish and Whistler) and Nanaimo on the island.
I'm such a nit picky... LOL...
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