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Posted on Thu, Jul. 18, 2002
Editorial
July 18, 2002—IF WISHES DO COME true, the Bay Area will be more than ready in 10 years when announcers declare it's time to "Let the games begin." The latest presentation for the region's bid to host the 2012 Summer Olympics was, by most accounts, a success. The culmination of taking the Olympic Committee, via boat, to the wondrous Pac Bell Park, where members were greeted at home plate by baseball legends Willy Mays and Willy McCovey, surely left a lasting impression. Before this encounter, there was a trip to Stanford, talk about building athletes' housing in Napa and of converting Moffett Field into the Olympic Village. The region's diversity was embraced, and a Sunday evening reception brought out 58 local Olympians to show their support for this bid.
Those of us already here know what the Olympic Committee discovered during its tour. The weather is great, sports facilities abound, people are welcoming and, of course, traffic is a nightmare. In fact, many consider our traffic snarls to be the region's biggest drawback.
But rather than accept that as a given, the Bay Area Sports Organizing Committee has looked at ways to solve the transportation problem, relying heavily on improvements to public transit. Should the Bay Area win this bid, it would be a perfect time to bring roads and rails into a condition fit for a worldwide event and for a region of the Bay Area's caliber.
Unlike the three other cities in the running -- Houston, New York and Washington, D.C. --Ęthe Bay Area's Olympic setting would be more regional, encompassing venues as far apart as Palo Alto and Sacramento. That would be a challenge, but certainly not impossible. In Sydney and Atlanta, events were also spread out.
Critics contend there is no way to salvage our fragile traffic situation, particularly to cater to areas so far apart. Certainly, it is a task of Olympic proportions, so it is only fitting that this problem be resolved for the 2012 Olympics. Rather than see this as a hurdle, we should see it as an opportunity. The solution would not only make the Olympics run smoothly, it might also keep those of us in the Bay Area running smoothly for years to come.
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