This weekend cyclists in their thousands will take to the roads for the annual RBC GranFondo Whistler bike ride from Vancouver to Whistler.
The large-scale event - set to bring in more than 6000 cyclists - will result in rolling lane closures and speed limit reductions between West Vancouver and Whistler from 5:30 am until 4:30 pm, September 9.
Sections of the Sea to Sky Highway will reopen as cyclists traverse the course.
For the full list of road closures and detours, see below.
Vancouver and North Shore changes and detours
Stanley Park Causeway and Lions Gate Bridge will be closed to northbound traffic from 5:30 a.m. until 8:30 a.m, with one southbound lane remaining open.
From 5:30 a.m. until 8:30 a.m Westbound Marine Drive will be condensed to a single lane between Capilano Rd and Taylor Way, while access to Taylor Way will be restricted for intermittent periods between 5:30 a.m. and 9 a.m.
Both eastbound lanes on Highway 1 will be closed between Taylor Way and Horseshoe Bay, from 5:30 a.m. until 10 a.m, with motorists advised to use Marine Drive eastbound instead.
Cypress Bowl Road should be avoided between 6 a.m. and 8:30 a.m. as 600 cyclists will be travelling up and down the hill with police escorts.
Westbound Highway 1 traffic and northbound Highway 99 traffic will be re-routed via Exit 2 to Old Highway 99 (Horseshoe Bay Drive) from 5:30 a.m. until 11 a.m. Traffic will enter Highway 99 northbound at the Pasco Road Highway 99 access.
For Horseshoe Bay locals or those planning on catching a ferry, traffic will be re-routed to Marine Drive through West Vancouver, from 5:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m.
From 5:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. eastbound heavy truck traffic travelling between Horseshoe Bay and Taylor Way and Highway 99 southbound will be redirected to a temporary storage location at Horseshoe Bay. Heavy truck traffic will be restricted from the Marine Drive, through West Vancouver, during this period and can re-enter Highway 1, when the eastbound highway lanes are re-opened.
Meanwhile Southbound Highway 99 traffic will be rerouted at the Pasco Road exit, via the Old Highway 99 route (Horseshoe Bay Drive), to Marine Drive in West Vancouver from 5:30 a.m. until 11:00 a.m.
Counterflow traffic adjacent to cyclists will be in effect at Tunnel Point, with one lane northbound and one lane southbound available for motorists, leading to single-lane alternating traffic for 2.6 km, from 6:30 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.
Sea to Sky traffic control
Throughout the day-long event speed limits will be reduced to 60 km/h on sections of Highway 99 between Vancouver and Whistler.
At Porteau Cove Provincial Park counterflow traffic adjacent to cyclists will be in effect, with one lane northbound and one lane southbound available for motorists, leading to single-lane alternating traffic for 1.3 km, from 7:15 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.
Local Furry Creek traffic will be re-routed via internal roads to access Highway 99 northbound and southbound from 7:15 a.m. until 11:30 a.m., while at Britannia Beach single-lane alternating traffic will be in effect for 1 km, with no northbound right turn permitted at Main Street (Copper Drive), from 7:30 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Squamish road changes
With no traffic access to Loggers Lane from Highway 99 at Cleveland Avenue, or Industrial Way from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. event organisers are advising motorists to use Centennial Way underpass to Loggers Lane.
Traffic to and from the east side of Highway 99 will be restricted or closed. Garibaldi Heights intermittent closures are penned for Scott Crescent NB (North of Clark Drive), Mamquam Road WB (West of Diamond Head Road), Garibaldi Way WB (West of Tantalus Rd), and Depot Road WB (East of Hwy 99), with intermittent delays between 8 a.m. and 8:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. Full closures can be expected from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Cyclists will be travelling the northbound slow lane on Highway 99 through Alice Lake Rd to Function Junction, just south of Whistler. Motorists will have one lane northbound and one lane southbound available, with counterflow traffic adjacent to cyclists from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Whistler traffic control
From Function Junction to Village Gate Boulevard traffic will be stopped intermittently at the entrances and exits of key Whistler destinations, with major delays expected for those entering and exiting the east side of Highway 99.
Blackcomb Way West and Callaghan Valley Road will be closed in both directions,
Village Gate Boulevard will be closed to northbound and southbound traffic from Highway 99, with Lorimer Rd and Whistler Way open as alternate routes.
Mina Kerr-Lazenby is the North Shore News’ Indigenous and civic affairs reporter. This reporting beat is made possible by the Local Journalism Initiative.
