Our downtown Vancouver SkyTrain stations get an Olympic look
Our downtown Vancouver SkyTrain stations get an Olympic look
![11-vancouvercitycentre-russia This team from Russia was spotted using the Vancouver City Centre ticket machines!](http://buzzer.translink.ca/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/11-vancouvercitycentre-russia.jpg)
I just have to start with this photo. What’s more Olympic than seeing Team Russia use our ticket machines?
Anyway, I caught this shot while taking a short tour of our downtown Vancouver stations this morning, just to see how our SkyTrain lines have been dressed up for the Olympics. I haven’t seen any of them yet, so I thought I would share the sights with you.
There’s new wayfinding and signage, and for those who don’t know, ads on the entire TransLink network were bought by VANOC, the Vancouver Olympic Organizing Committee, and resold to Olympic sponsors. Each station seems to have its own particular company to focus on. Let’s have a look!
![01-waterfront-samsung The Samsung display in Waterfront Station's lobby.](http://buzzer.translink.ca/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/01-waterfront-samsung.jpg)
There’s an enormous glowing Samsung display in the Waterfront Station lobby! So many people were having their photos taken with it. You can interact with the Samsung display screens on the phones, although I couldn’t get it to do much besides launch applications. Maybe I was doing it wrong!
![03-waterfront-ads2 Acer ads in the Expo/Millennium Line station at Waterfront.](http://buzzer.translink.ca/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/03-waterfront-ads2.jpg)
Ads for Acer are all over the Expo/Millennium Line station in Waterfront.
![03a-waterfront-trip The trip planner in Waterfront Station.](http://buzzer.translink.ca/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/03a-waterfront-trip.jpg)
And the trip planner info boards have been updated with maps! (They’re located in between the Waterfront lobby and the part of the station going to the Expo/Millennium Line and SeaBus.)
![02-waterfront-ads Tourism BC ads are in the Canada Line station at Waterfront.](http://buzzer.translink.ca/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/02-waterfront-ads.jpg)
The Canada Line station at Waterfront has been taken over with Super Natural British Columbia ads from Tourism BC.
![05-seabus-turnstiles London UK tourism ads at the Waterfront SeaBus station.](http://buzzer.translink.ca/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/05-seabus-turnstiles.jpg)
Oddly enough, tourism ads for the city of London UK have taken over SeaBus! I’m guessing that’s because of the London Olympics in 2012? Anyway, they’ve wrapped the turnstiles and put floor and overhead ads up.
![06-seabus-ads SeaBus ads for London UK tourism.](http://buzzer.translink.ca/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/06-seabus-ads.jpg)
Here’s the floor ads and the overhead ads at the SeaBus station at Waterfront.
![07-burrard-ads McDonalds ads at Burrard Station.](http://buzzer.translink.ca/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/07-burrard-ads.jpg)
And McDonalds has Burrard Station covered.
![11-vancouvercitycentre Vancouver City Centre's ads are done by GE.](http://buzzer.translink.ca/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/11-vancouvercitycentre.jpg)
This is just one wall of these GE ads! They’re really everywhere in Vancouver City Centre Station, as they have lots of ad space there. Also, the fencing nearby is for lineup management during the Games.
![12-yaletown-ads Yaletown-Roundhouse Station has Bell ads.](http://buzzer.translink.ca/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/12-yaletown-ads.jpg)
Bell ads were at Yaletown-Roundhouse.
![13-yaletown Informational signage on the street outside Yaletown-Roundhouse.](http://buzzer.translink.ca/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/13-yaletown.jpg)
And outside, there were some great maps to help people get around the neighbourhood — I especially liked the inclusion of a grey circle overlay that showed you how far you could walk in about 15 minutes. Yaletown-Roundhouse is very near to the LiveCity Yaletown site, so people will certainly be looking for how to get around the area.
![08-stadium-ads Olympic ads at Stadium-Chinatown Station.](http://buzzer.translink.ca/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/08-stadium-ads.jpg)
Olympic ads and Bay clothing ads were on display at Stadium.
![10-stadium-i The informational signage outside Stadium-Chinatown Station.](http://buzzer.translink.ca/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/10-stadium-i.jpg)
And there was an “i” informational map station outside Stadium-Chinatown, as you exit towards Canada Hockey Place. Very handy.
![08a-stadium-signage The new wayfinding signage up at Stadium-Chinatown station.](http://buzzer.translink.ca/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/08a-stadium-signage.jpg)
Here’s another look at some of the new station signage at Stadium-Chinatown, too!
![olympiccountdown The countdown clock!](http://buzzer.translink.ca/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/olympiccountdown.jpg)
To cap off this whirlwind tour, here’s the Olympic countdown clock outside the Vancouver Art Gallery! A Japanese morning show was interviewing two locals wearing red mittens nearby :) Sorry I missed Granville Station by the way — I hear that’s all Coke ads!
it’s kind of sad that the only decorations on skytrain for the Olympics are corporate ads. Nice to see the new maps, though.
Nice little photo tour. Almost all the advertisements for the Olympics seem to be mainly Bell, Samsung, GE and Acer aside from the Vancouver 2010 ads.
I like the McDonald’s ad that said “the next is train is coming 3 mmms!” I laughed so hard until I forgot I was on the SkyTrain. Pretty awkward moment. :)
The new signage looks good. Question about the bus service though. On the translink website it says the extended bus service changes start today (Ex 130,123,319,320 and 321) buses running later to connect to last skytrains but the extended hours for skytrain don’t start till the 12th? Can you confirm about that gap?
I’ve seen a few of the ads at other stations and bus stops as well. There is no question as to who the sponsors are. :)
Too bad the Olympic Committee did not follow suit with the Wayfinding T-sign at a few of the downtown Canada Line stations. When I stood at the intersection of Granville and W.Georgia, it was clear where the Granville station was located, but not so much the Vancouver City Centre one.
e-eye:
I know. But if it helps, more wayfinding signage will be going up closer to the start of the Games to help differentiate between Vancouver City Centre & Granville.
Scott:
Yes, there is a gap. The bus extensions take effect Feb 1 as part of the quarterly bus service sheet change, but SkyTrain doesn’t expand service until the 12th.
[…] readers will note that I missed Granville Station on Monday’s tour of Olympic ads in downtown SkyTrain stations. Luckily, my colleague Charlotte Boychuk from CMBC captured Granville’s look for the […]
Also, the yaletown info sign looks badly placed to me, like being so close to the intersection I wonder if it would obstruct the view of cars that are turning right, so they can’t see pedestrians that are stepping out onto the curb.
Hmmm… I can’t remember if it was really in the way for anyone! It seemed very quiet out there in terms of traffic. The streets near Yaletown station will also be a pedestrian corridor for the Games, so maybe cars will not be around as much—for that period, anyway.