By TIFFANY GEE
Speaking to residents in and around the Avenues in Salt Lake City, Mitt Romney, president of the Salt Lake Olympic Organizing Committee, addressed issues including traffic, events, parking and participation for Utahns at a meeting Wednesday at Washington Elementary School in Salt Lake City.
Whether we like it or not, Romney said, Utah will be branded by the Olympic Games.
“What defines the games in the eyes of the visitors are the people that greet them at the airport, the ones that drive them around, interact with them and sell them things,” Romney said as he talked about the need for citizen participation.
30,000 volunteers will be needed to help with the Olympics and Paralympics, Romney said.
He said SLOC has introduced a program asking companies to donate the man-hours of 10 percent of their workers to help with the Olympics.
Another way to get involved is to house visitors, Romney said.
Seventy percent of the visitors to the Olympics will stay in the homes of friends and locals, he said.
SLOC is organizing a centralized reservation system for out-of-town visitors who want to stay in the homes of Utah residents, Romney said.
Romney warned against landlords removing tenants in order to make money off Olympic tourists.
“We need your rooms, but don’t kick out a tenant because you think you’ll make money,” Romney said.
Residents also asked questions about parking and traffic.
“We don’t anticipate using residential places for parking,” Romney said. “We don’t know if people will want to park in the Avenues. We have to decide together how to discourage that.”
SLOC hasn’t scheduled any events in Salt Lake City during the day, so workers can go to and from work without hassle, Romney said. Most events will start at 5 p.m. or later in the Delta Center.
Residents and tourists that are not able to attend the actual events can come to the Medals Plaza in downtown Salt Lake each night and watch athletes being awarded medals, Romney said. He said free concerts will also be provided each night.
John Sittner, president of the Olympics in the Community Committee, added to Romney’s remarks by encouraging citizens to maximize the experience for visitors.
“I’m hoping we’ll be able to be a host to them and ourselves,” Sittner said.
Locals should advertise their knowledge of a foreign language by wearing flags, Sittner said.
“Have them get to know our snow, get to know our canyons, get to know us,” Sittner said.
