Brisbane's Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner says the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games, which will be hosted by his city, will be car-free.
A few months after Brisbane was announced as the host for the 2032 Olympics in July 2021, Schrinner stated that spectators would not be driving to or parking at Olympic venues in Brisbane.
"That is not going to work. We need better public transport and better mobility to make sure we can ferry people to and from the Games," he said. "We will be learning from other cities to see how they have done it and how we can make it work here in south-east Queensland."
Schrinner reiterated his commitment after a recent visit to Los Angeles, which will be hosting the 2028 games. He noted that while the facilities there look great, they are surrounded by car parks and traffic congestion.
When Olympic spectators come and go in Brisbane, Schrinner wants them to use public transportation like the Cross River Rail line, which will have a station right next to the stadium.
"Green bridges" for pedestrians and cyclists will encourage attendees to bike or walk to the venues as part of a bigger plan for a "smarter and greener" Olympics.
Brisbane is aiming to turn the 2032 games carbon neutral, or even carbon negative, meaning the event will be responsible for removing as much or more carbon pollution from the air as it creates through means like planting trees to offset any dirty energy that is used in hosting the Olympics.
Millions of people attend the Olympics, and cutting cars out of the equation will help reduce the amount of planet-warming pollution the event generates. It will also help alleviate traffic in Brisbane, the population of which is expected to near 2.8 million by 2032.
It's worth noting that Los Angeles planners also hope to pull off a vehicle-free Olympics in 2028 and have started construction on a subway extension, a light-rail line in South Los Angeles, and an underground connector that will link multiple rail lines.
Stephanie Wiggins, head of the LA metro system, even visited Brisbane in May 2022 to talk more about a car-free Olympics.
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