Vancouver police, fire preparing for huge crowds period

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Vancouver police, fire preparing for huge crowds for Saturday’s Canuck game


VANCOUVER -- Vancouver police and fire officials are girding themselves for a massive public turnout downtown on Saturday, as the Vancouver Canucks head to their second rendezvous with the Boston Bruins in the Stanley Cup Final.

More officers will be on duty, and for a longer period, to cope with crush crowds expected to come out to cheer on the Canucks. And the fire department is moving some rescue trucks from outlying halls closer to the downtown and will increase inspections of bars and public gathering places.

But officials say the volumes, which are also expected to swell because of the forecast for hot, sunny weather, won’t be anything they haven’t already seen during the 2010 Winter Olympics or the summertime Celebration of Light fireworks parties.

More than 40,000 people gathered downtown under cloudy skies for Wednesday night’s Stanley Cup game.

"We can anticipate with good weather that we will have larger crowds than we saw on Wednesday," said Vancouver police spokeswoman Const. Jana McGuinness. "Also ... it’s a Saturday and people don’t have to get up for work the next day.

"As a result, we’re going to be increasing the deployment in the area, and there will be a visible increase in officers."

Crowds are expected to be younger and more boisterous and stay downtown longer, meaning police will probably not see the last of them until well into Sunday morning, she said. But as usual, the police will be enforcing public liquor laws and will pour out any alcohol they find on the streets.

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Vancouver Canucks fans go wild on Granville Street following a goal by Raffi Torres that gave the Canucks a 1-0 win over Boston Bruins in the opening game of the Stanley Cup final on Wednesday night.

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On Wednesday, police disposed of alcohol in 325 cases and issued 31 violation tickets, a level similar to what occurs on each night of the fireworks festival.

The city estimates the extra policing, engineering and fire-department services, as well as two fan zones downtown, will cost upwards of $1 million.

Meanwhile, Premier Christy Clark and Mayor Gregor Robertson plan to re-light the Olympic cauldron this Monday and Wednesday, while the Canucks are playing in Boston. The idea is to keep the spirit that came to Vancouver during the Olympic Games — and that has returned for the playoff run — alive while the Canucks are on the road.

Monday’s public lighting is expected to take place at 3 p.m.

Vancouver has no plans to increase the fan zones on Hamilton Street in front of the CBC building and on Granville St. at Robson for Saturday’s game. Capt. Gabe Roder of the Vancouver Fire Department said officials will limit the Hamilton zone to 4,500 people and the Granville zone to 4,000 to prevent injuries in the event of a surge.

But, he said, those zones could be increased in size if more television screens are added for future games.

Eight fire-prevention officers will also enforce seating limits in bars and restaurants after the game ends, he said.

TransLink said it will keep its rapid-transit lines "dialed to the maximum" for frequent service to deal with the anticipated large volumes, but isn’t extending the operating hours past 1:15 a.m.

Ken Hardie, a TransLink spokesman, said revellers who stay downtown after SkyTrain and Canada Line service ends can use Night Bus services until they shut down at 4:15 a.m.

"I’d suggest anyone who is downtown after that might want to just go for breakfast," he said.