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Photos from transit on the last day of the Games

Photos from transit on the last day of the Games

Well, what better way to start this post than with a video of O Canada sung on transit? Many people have reported others singing our national anthem on transit during the Games, and I’m sure it happened all over the city on Sunday. My video was captured on the Canada Line shortly after the hockey game, and the singers were just a random group of happy people riding into downtown.

I headed for downtown after the hockey game was over at 3, and people were just bursting with triumph from the win. Here’s the #17 trolley overcome with fans at Macdonald and Broadway.

The Cambie Bridge, covered in pedestrians.
The Cambie Bridge, covered in pedestrians.

I transferred at Cambie and Broadway to catch the Canada Line into downtown. While there I saw the crowds headed over the Cambie bridge! Click the picture for a larger version: it’s much better when you see it big.

A Canada Line train headed to Waterfront.
A Canada Line train headed to Waterfront.

As expected, Canada Line trains headed into downtown were packed.

Traffic backed up by the crowds!
Traffic backed up by the crowds!

I visited the Vancouver Lookout again to see if there were any good photos to be had. I caught this great shot of the traffic backed up by the crowds crossing the street. (Click it for a larger version — it’s much better seen big.)

And at this point, about 4 p.m. or so, buses were cut off from entering downtown Vancouver since crowds like this were getting so large and disrupting traffic for prolonged periods. (Don’t worry: buses returned to downtown at about 7:30 p.m. when crowds broke up a bit!)

A small crowd waiting for SeaBus.
A small crowd waiting for SeaBus.

I watched the closing ceremonies downtown and then ventured back out on the system once they were done, about 9 p.m.. SeaBus had been busy after the hockey game, but after the closing ceremonies, they were doing OK — busy crowds but no waits. Waterfront Station was much the same for both the Canada Line and Expo/Millennium Line.

Granville Station had its grille closed for queue management.
Granville Station had its grille closed for queue management.

Then, it was over to Granville Station. Again, while crowds were busy in the street, nobody was ready to go home yet, so the crowds weren’t flooding the station. The grille on Granville Street was already down though, to encourage people to get into the station through the Dunsmuir Street entrance.

Granville and Georgia.
Granville and Georgia.

So many people were in the street! You can see how while bus service had returned, the crowds were slowing down their service. They kept plugging away though!

Vancouver City Centre.
Vancouver City Centre.

Vancouver City Centre was the same as Granville — so many people outside, not very many flooding the station. Really, nobody was ready to go home.

Happy people coming off the Canada Line at Vancouver City Centre.
Happy people coming off the Canada Line at Vancouver City Centre.

I went in the station to hop on the train and the people coming off the Canada Line were all whooping and shouting and high fiving still. Everyone was, all through the night, on transit and in the streets.

Lineup at Yaletown-Roundhouse.
Lineup at Yaletown-Roundhouse.

At Yaletown-Roundhouse, I saw the first lineup I’d seen all night. As LiveCity Yaletown is very close to the station, it just seemed that people were trying to head home after watching the closing ceremonies. LOTS and LOTS of people.

Yaletown-Roundhouse outside.
Yaletown-Roundhouse outside.

The lineup was so long at Yaletown-Roundhouse that it went past the front of the station around to the back, winding through queue management barricades and then down into the station. Still, the lineup wasn’t much longer than 30 minutes, I’d say?

The crowd did make it a bit hard to get out of the station, but hardly anyone except your humble writer here was trying to do that.

The C23!
The C23!

After that, I went down Davie Street. Crowds crowds everywhere: but here’s the C23, still rolling on!

A fellow waving a flag in front of a car in the street.
A fellow waving a flag in front of a car in the street.

There were also some bizarre, jubilant sights, like this fellow who jumped into the street and started vigorously waving a flag in front of a car.

The 22 leaves its stop, packed to the gills!
The 22 leaves its stop, packed to the gills!

And I snapped this 22 as it left its stop, packed to the rafters and still leaving a few folks behind. (Worry not: another 22 was along in a bit!)

So that’s it for my evening out on the system, and this is my final Olympic post! Starting tomorrow, I’ll return to my regular posting schedule: just a few posts a day and no more weekends. See you then!

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