Spectators will endure long, cold waits

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- Thirty minutes to get through security. An hour and a half to catch a train. Leaving at 4:30 in the morning for ski jumping. Gridlock on Interstate 80.

Spectators might have a task of Olympic proportions themselves when the Winter Games begin -- actually getting to their seats.

Organizers warned Friday that the Olympics will stretch the capabilities of transportation and security systems, with long waits expected at times to get a ride or get inside.

"People need to be patient," said Fraser Bullock, the Salt Lake Organizing Committee's chief operating officer. "It will take a lot of time to move people. We're trying to manage people's expectations."

With the games beginning next Friday, bus drivers are making practice runs and technicians are refining computer models to determine what could go wrong with transportation.

Security officials are already getting some hands-on experience with checkpoints at the athletes' village and main media center, where early arrivers faced long lines in temperatures in the teens.

"The first two or three days it will be very slow getting into venues," said Mitt Romney, head of the SLOC.

Spectators might have to wait up to 30 minutes to get through security checkpoints, where they will go through metal detectors and have all their belongings searched, Bullock said.

But security personnel have already figured out ways to speed up the searches, he said.

"When I got here this morning there was a long line and I thought it would take a long time," Bullock said. "I timed it and it was three minutes."

Journalists, not always the most patient of sorts, have had to wait outside before going through two tents where volunteers and National Guard members go through their bags.

Waiting times have improved since the media center opened two weeks ago, but only a fraction of the 9,000 accredited media have arrived in Salt Lake City.

"We've been here for two weeks and they're doing really good now," said Luis Martinez, a reporter for Televisia in Mexico City. "The waits were long, but today it was one minute or less."

What organizers fear is bitterly cold weather or snow storms that can make every minute seem like 10 for people standing in line waiting to be searched.

That same weather could play havoc with a transportation system impressive in size and scope yet perhaps not capable of quickly getting everyone to where they want to go.

"We know we will have some issues here and there," Bullock said. "It's too large and complex of a system to expect it will go perfectly."

SLOC will use 1,500 buses to get athletes, media and an estimated 70,000 to 80,000 spectators a day to venues and drop-off points.

What worries organizers most is not people going to an event, but leaving. Bullock said transportation experts expect people to wait at least 90 minutes to catch the light rail trains after the opening and closing ceremonies and at other downtown events.

Also troubling to transportation officials is Interstate 80, which leads to the Park City area where events such as ski jumping, bobsled and freestyle skiing will be held.

On the fifth day of the Olympics, Feb. 12, four events will be held in the Olympic Park area of Park City, and traffic is expected to exceed the capacity of the road, possibly creating gridlock.

Organizers are warning that even on normal days it might take up to four hours for spectators to get from their homes or hotels to their seats. That means leaving at 4:30 a.m. to get to the 8:30 a.m. start of the 120-meter ski jumping preliminaries on Feb. 12.

 

Related information
Stories
Mormon Church under scrutiny at Salt Lake Games Forecasters predict snow for Opening Ceremony
Multimedia
Visit Video Plus for the latest audio and video
Search our site	Watch CNN/SI 24 hours a day
	Sports Illustrated and CNN have combined to form a 24 hour sports news and information channel. To receive CNN/SI at your home call your cable operator or DirecTV.