Olympic security to patrol bridges

Security forces for the 2010 Winter Games say they have put new protocols in place to deal with suicide attempts, protesters or other disturbances on the bridges leading into downtown Vancouver during the Games in February.

Supt. Kevin de Bruyckere of with the Integrated Security Unit said anyone planning an incident on the Lion's Gate Bridge or the Ironworker's Memorial Bridge will come face to face with his team.

"We'll have additional resources in place positioned at or near the bridges. We'll have a significant increase in uniformed, visible policing presence near the bridges, so the hope is that provides a strong deterrence for somebody to walk onto the bridge.

"They'll see the police and believe that's not the time to do what they're thinking of doing," said de Bruyckere.

In the past, protesters and attempted suicides have frequently snarled traffic for hours on the thoroughfares, effectively choking off vehicle access between Vancouver and routes on the North Shore to Olympic venues at Whistler and the Cypress Mountain resort.

On Wednesday, Olympic officials released new details of the plan, which included numerous road closures and parking restrictions throughout the city.