Most people know how “fun” it is to drive around the Lower Mainland. Sometimes I think it was a great move to sell my car in 2005, especially on weekends like this. Between festivals, the Sun Run on Sunday and the usual road work, the city is going to be pretty painful to maneuver around over the next couple of days. Here are a couple events of note (including road closures).

The Vaisahki Festival kicked off last weekend with events in several cities, but today and tomorrow festivities ramp up with parades taking place in Surrey and Vancouver [Channel M] [Surrey Events]

With a record 50,000+ people participating in the Sun Run tomorrow, you know there are going to be road closures. From Georgia, Stanley Park, Pacific Blvd, the Burrard and Cambie bridges, you might want to avoid driving downtown all together.

Later today we’ll be heading to the airport to pick up my in-laws for their second trip to Vancouver. It’ll be a whirlwind tour once again but at least we’ll have more time than last year surrounding the wedding. The first step though, is getting to the airport on time. Oak street was a nightmare yesterday as was Granville, all thanks to trolley bus lines. Not to mention Cambie is a complete write off, which is evident by going to the Canada Line website and watching the bright red Traffic Alerts flow on in. Right now there’s Cambie Village, Cambie Bridge, West Pender and Broadway warnings.

It’s fantastic to see the city coming alive, especially now that it’s 8am on a Saturday and the sun is shining through the curtains and glaring out my laptop screen. Once we get John’s parents from YVR it’ll be smooth sailing the rest of the week.

On a side note, to catch Sun Runners in action tomorrow check out the KatKam - also try the course map above to find a good vantage point. I’m assuming the Granville Bridge would be right in the middle of the action but then again, it’ll be the only traffic artery in and out of downtown on that side. Good luck runners! (…and drivers!)