It is hard to believe, but it has been almost a decade since the 2010 Olympic Games and Winter Paralympics swept through the Lower Mainland and the Sea to Sky.
There is no question that the Olympics have had a lasting impact on our area.
鈥淭he Olympics were a game-changer for Squamish. More for Squamish I would say than any other area,鈥� said former Squamish mayor Patricia Heintzman, adding that the biggest impacts weren鈥檛 during the games, but the infrastructure upgrades that were completed prior to the first torch relay run.
听
The road more travelled
The听 $600-million Sea-to-Sky Highway Improvement Project was completed in 2009, in time for the Olympics and was built to handle increased capacity until 2030.
The new highway, with additional lanes and wider shoulders is a safer version of the mountain pass than what previously wound its way through Squamish. With the improved drive came the commuters.
鈥淲ithout the highway expansion, we would not have the growth that we have had, and still have, which everyone at the time thought was greatly needed. But ironically, the rate of growth today is a concern to many. When a government makes a $700-million investment they do so expecting a return. That return is land development,鈥� Heintzman said in an email to The 小蓝视频, adding she wishes that the more costly high-speed rail, rather than a highway, could have been.
鈥淥n the whole, [the Olympics] was a positive for the town. I wish we鈥檇 gotten a train and not a bigger highway, it would have been a much better, more sustainable choice into the future.鈥�
Squamish鈥檚 Corridor Trail, too, came out of the Olympics, Heintzman notes.
John French, who worked for two years for the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC) as community and media relations manager, also notes the infrastructure gains from the Games.
鈥淚t gave us some amazing legacy venues, like the cross country ski trail at Whistler Olympic Park and the biathlon range and the ski jumps,鈥� he said, adding that Legacy Park was another gain for Squamish.
The Sea to Sky Nordics Club too came together out of the Games.
鈥淎nd it is a solid club with some really talented young skiers,鈥� he said.
The Games created tourism awareness that never would have been created without that level of world focus, French added.
He acknowledges that Squamish could likely have gained more and that some in town were disappointed their expectations were not met.
鈥淭he council of the day had tremendous opportunity, and they didn鈥檛 capitalize on it. The council of the day expected far more than it realistically should have,鈥� he said. 鈥淯ltimately, VANOC opted to find other solutions outside of Squamish for things like parking and transportation hubs.鈥�
Asked if other towns should see the potential of the Olympics as a boon, French said it depends.
鈥淲hat it would depend on is the existing venues, and what it would take to build venues that aren鈥檛 already built. For an event like the Olympic Games, any city that has a scenario that is similar to Vancouver, where there are smaller outlying communities where events can be located, I would say it is really ideal,鈥� he said. 鈥淚n my mind, the way Vancouver, Whistler functioned in 2010 鈥� with most of the snow events being in the Whistler area 鈥� it worked really well.鈥�
听
Squamish Nation gains
Squamish Nation Coun. Kwitelut Kwelaw鈥檌kw听 (Carla George) worked toward the 2010 bid for the Olympics and was on her first term on council during the Games.
The Games celebrated the four host nations on whose territories the Games occurred 鈥� the Tsleil-Waututh, Musqueam, Lil鈥檞at and Squamish Nations.
George said there were many positives for the Nation.
鈥淩ight from thinking of our youth who were dancing on the floor during the opening ceremonies... along with our heads of state who participated with all these government officials, all the Royalty. [The Olympics] were very, very inclusive of our four host First Nations,鈥� she said.
Enhanced Nation-to-Nation building has grown from the Games, she said.
鈥淲orking together under the four host First Nations and just collaborating within our own communities has been phenomenal,鈥� George said, noting land development as one example of collaboration.
鈥淕oing beyond that to municipal, regional, provincial, federal government... I believe the relationships have changed,鈥� she said, pointing to the City of Vancouver acknowledging the territories of the First Nations of the area.
鈥淭hat has really changed to where we are at today and I really attribute a lot of that to looking at what the Olympics brought to our communities.鈥�
Thee and Whistler Nordic Centre came out of the Games and were built by the Nation鈥檚 Newhaven Projects Limited Partnership.
鈥淗aving those opportunities was pretty phenomenal,鈥� she said.
The Sea to Sky Squamish-language signage encouraged the current revitalization of the language, which, for a time, had dwindled to a handful of speakers.
鈥淚t was our opportunity to say, 鈥榃e have a language, we are still here. We haven鈥檛 vanished,鈥欌�� she said.
鈥淲e have continued on with the revitalization of our language in our own communities.鈥�
The First Nation Snow Board Team is another legacy of the Games too, she said.
听
The Fun
Everyone The Chief spoke to about the Olympic experience said that they have fond memories of the camaraderie and fun they experienced during the Games.
Squamish鈥檚 Tsawaysia Spukwus (Alice Guss) recalls her family drumming, singing, storytelling and getting other people dancing at Totem Hall.
鈥淲e shared our language and culture with the Czech Republic Bobsled Team and they told their paralympic team, so we did it for them also,鈥� she recalled.
George recalls the torch relays on the Nation鈥檚 traditional territories and the crowds of people at the Aboriginal Pavillion in Vancouver.
She met many heads of state, Olympians and Princess Anne, which was a highlight.
鈥淚t was so cool,鈥� she said, adding getting tickets to go to many of the events was exciting for many members.
French described his Olympic experience as 鈥渁mazing.鈥�
鈥淚 personally got so much out of it, in the way of connections and new experiences, I am really thankful that the Olympics came to our area.鈥�
