With more than 5,000 cyclists anticipated to make their way from Vancouver to Whistler for this Saturday’s GranFondo race, motorists can expect major daytime delays on Highway 99.
The annual event will result in rolling lane closures and speed limit reductions between West Vancouver and the resort, from 5:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Sept. 9.
Throughout the day-long race, speed limits on sections of the Sea to Sky Highway will be lowered to 60 kilometres an hour.
Whistler impacts
In Whistler, signals will be flashing and traffic will be stopped intermittently at entrances and exists to key resort destinations. Expect major delays throughout the day entering and exiting the east side of Highway 99.
Specifically, southbound traffic will be delayed between Village Gate Boulevard and Callaghan Valley Road, from 9:15 to 10 a.m. There is no full road closure planned.
Alta Lake Road will also be available as an alternate route within Whistler.
There will be impacts to various other roads and intersections throughout Whistler as well:
• Blackcomb Way West: Closed in both directions.
• Village Gate Boulevard: Closed to northbound and southbound traffic from Highway 99.
• Lorimer Road and Whistler Way: Both roads are open as alternate routes to Village Gate.
• Whistler Northlands Boulevard at Village Gate: The traffic signal will be flashing. Traffic control personnel will be onsite from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
• Callaghan Valley Road: Closed in both directions.
From Function Junction to Alice Lake Road, motorists can expect counterflow traffic adjacent to cyclists. Cyclists will take up the northbound slow lane, leaving one northbound and one southbound lane for drivers. Counterflow will be in effect from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Transit
Public transit will be free throughout race day, courtesy of the Resort Municipality of Whistler. There will also be extra shuttle service between the village and Creekside from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Riders are advised to catch the bus at the Gondola Transit Exchange in the village, and on Chamonix Crescent at Lake Placid Road in Creekside, opposite the Co-op gas station.
Several bus stops south of the village will be closed in the morning and afternoon to help ensure cyclists’ safety during the event:
• All bus stops along Village Gate Boulevard and Northlands Boulevard, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., with all routes departing from the Gondola Transit Exchange.
• All bus stops in Cheakamus Crossing, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Riders are advised to walk to Function Junction to catch a bus to the village, opposite Home Hardware.
• All bus stops in Spring Creek, Creekside, and Nordic, between 9:15 a.m. and 4 p.m., as well as the Highway 99 stops at Hillcrest, Brio and Panorama Ridge.
• All northbound highway bus stops, from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. After that time, passengers will need to cross the event bike lane to board the bus. Be careful to avoid cyclists. The Route 10-Valley Express northbound bus will be using the temporary stop on Chamonix Crescent to access Creekside until the regular stop across from the Tim Hortons is reopened after 1 p.m.
Squamish impacts
Traffic signals will be flashing, with traffic control personnel onsite, from Murrin Lake Park to Squamish.
In Squamish proper, there will be no access to Loggers Lane from Highway 99 at Cleveland Avenue or Industrial Way. Motorists are advised instead to use the Centennial Way underpass to Loggers Lane, from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Signals will be flashing on the highway from Valley Drive to Depot Road, and traffic movements both to and from the east side of Highway 99 will be restricted and/or closed.
Motorists in Squamish can expect intermittent delays from 8 to 8:30 a.m., and then again from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Full closures of specific intersections on the east side of Highway 99 are planned from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m.—excluding Clarke Drive for hospital access. For detour options, use Clarke Drive instead of the Valley Drive intersection; Centennial Way instead of the Loggers Lane and Finch Drive intersections; and Dowad Drive for access to Garibaldi Highlands—u-turn at Depot Road for southbound highway access.
Further along the Sea to Sky Highway
Counterflow traffic will be in effect at Porteau Cove Provincial Park, with one lane northbound and one lane southbound available for motorists, leading to single-lane alternating traffic for 1.3 km, from 7:15 to 11 a.m.
At Furry Creek, local traffic will be rerouted via internal roads to access Highway 99 northbound and southbound, from 7:15 to 11:30 a.m.
Single-lane alternating traffic will also be in effect at Britannia Beach for one km, with no northbound right turn permitted at Main Street (a.k.a. Copper Drive), from 7:30 a.m. to noon.
Learn more at rbcgranfondo.com/whistler/traffic-advisories.
