|
 |   |
|
EVENTS Fantasy Central Inside Game Multimedia Central Statitudes Your Turn Message Boards Email Newsletters Golf Guide Cities Work in Sports
CNNSI.com GROUP
COMMERCE
|  |
Reactions: Olympic headaches Transportation and weather top the listLatest: Friday September 08, 2000 09:24 AM
Crowded trains and buses, potential torrential downpours, snooty Aussies and even bomb threats. As the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia draw near, CNNSI.com users were asked what they thought were the biggest headaches facing organizers. A sample of the responses we received follows: When it comes to anticipated Olympic headaches, the one the locals fear is transport. The NSW State Rail system is at an all-time low at the moment, with regular derailments over the past six months as well as other glitches precipitating commuters into chaos every week or so. The primary carrier of spectators to all Olympic events will be the railway. In a normal fortnight the system carries 12 million commuters; during the games, this number is expected to rise to 31 million. Regarding buses: A private company called Bus 2000 has provided 4,500 drivers and 3,350 buses for the Games, but a series of bungles -- when drivers got lost or failed to turn up -- has forced the government to put in a layer of management over the contractors. Sydney Airport: its new multi-million dollar baggage handling system has so many problems it has been shut down until after the Games. A travel tip: plan back-up routes to your destination. For example, instead of catching the train to the main Olympic Park terminus, consider going to Concord West and walking the 1.6 km (20-30 minutes) to the venues.
As an Aussie, and one that lives between the cycling and beach volleyball venues, I would have to say that the traffic chaos will be incredible. We Aussies are not used to heavy traffic constantly and heaven forbid the road rage incidents as a result.
Bondi Beach is a highly dense area (lots of apartment living) and it is often hard to find a car space for your own vehicle. As a result of the beach volleyball, there will be days when you can only park your cars outside your house if you have a sticker from the RTA. The only problem it has been nine days and we still haven't got stickers -- the RTA has a hiccup getting them to all the registered vehicles in those prime tow away zones.
In the past few weeks, I managed to temporarily disable myself and thus am living through the eyes of the disabled person in a wheelchair for awhile. Our eastern suburb streets are a nightmare for the wheelchair bound -- little things like no access into major shops and not being able to cross the road unless you have a motorized scooter or someone giving you a hand.
This is the area where the Paralympics will be played out in a month.
So what challenges does Sydney face? Well, train chaos. You don't want me down that path. Traffic chaos. After all, every Sydneysider (who has to work during the Olympics) knows it isn't practical to leave their car at home and catch a train to work. You might not get there till lunch and then, of course, let's think of the accessibility of our visitors when visiting some of our larger commercial areas.
Problems will range from athletes from fundamentalist countries going ballistic when they get propositioned by anything from a pretty girl to a hairy man in the city's seedy areas.
Also, the Seppo tourist will [complain] about everything, so a few of them will surely experience the wrath of road ragers.
Australians liked to be praised but if you criticize them, even constructively, then they will turn red with rage and proceed to slander the hell out of your country by clutching at any negative stereotype that comes to mind.
The biggest headache for the organizers of the Olympics will be the control of information. They are trying to stop people from posting up-to-date results, interviews, images, movies etc. on their Web sites, but they will find out that information, even about "the people's games," is uncontrollable in the internet age. And that is a good thing.
1. Strikes by major trade unions could cause problems. The public transit drivers and conductors, mail personnel, telephone, garbage haulers, fuel tanker drivers, etc., all have the nasty habit of calling strikes for pay raises at the worst possible times. They love Christmas because they always get results.
2. The weather could turn nasty and if it does, rains cause major problems. Unlike the U.S., Australia is not set up for door-to-door driving and in many circumstances, people will get wet by being forced to walk long distances in the rain.
3. Alcohol consumption is much greater and there is a much greater degree of public intoxication. Some think that most Statesiders will not be used to this, and it may make their trip less enjoyable.
4. The local fast food tends to be very bland, except for the seafood, which is by far the best in the world.
5. The game site is way out in the bush relative to the nightspots and entertainment venues of downtown Sydney. Most folks attending will have to endure long and uncomfortable public transportation to reach Homebush. In addition, Sydney has always had problems with gangs on trains attacking passengers, and that could make trips quite unpleasant.
6. The above are just a few problems that could arise. Remember that Australians are quite a xenophobic group, who while happy to take your money, have no great love of "Yanks" and other foreigners.
There will be no bombs, rowdy protests or major rail disruptions and that's a fact. You see, our coppers have got things under control and if any bugger tries to stuff things up they'll fix the problem before it happens, no doubt. As for transportation, along with 7,000 others, I having been training for 12 months to make sure this won't be a problem. We all know our way around and we can't wait to deliver the goods. And wait until you see the weather. Although it will be cold in the morning, the day will be warm, clear and spectacular. The temperature range is 20-26 degrees Fahrenheit, depending what part of the Metropolitan Area you are in. Everybody and everything here is ready and few believe there will be any major hassles at all. All we can think of is the great time we will all have and how bloody lucky we are to be in this situation.
Sure there will be problems - you can't have an event like this without problems. As a resident of Sydney, I think that transport will be the biggest problem - not so much for the athletes and officials, but for the average Sydney-sider going to work everyday. But you get that. The atmosphere here is changing everyday and things ARE getting exciting. The city looks great. We are going to have THE BEST time. Problems? I don't think we'll worry too much.
While I hope the weather is wonderful, it is the only factor that could spoil the games. Even so, a bit of rain doesn't mean we won't still have FUN!
One of the main problems I see that might happen is a possible terrorist attack similar to the bombing in Atlanta. Of course I wish this wouldn't happen, but in an event like the Olympics, it is the perfect place for a terrorist to make a religious/political statement. Let's hope that nothing happens and no athletes or fans get injured during the games.
Transportation will be the largest problem in Sydney. We have a good rail and bus network in Sydney, but our roads are chaos and that's just normal traffic. The trains WILL be overloaded. The buses will be late and caught in traffic every day of the games. The best way around is to walk or use a bicycle. Allow at least two-three hours travelling time to any events. Our weather has been great for the past six months - only the odd day of cloud or rain. In the past few weeks the daily temperature has been between 60-75F.
|
