Cambie Street Bridge will be closed to traffic from noon until midnight Wednesday to allow for the dress rehearsal of the 2010 Opening Ceremony at BC Place.

The bridge will also be closed on Feb. 12 and 28 for the official Opening and Closing Ceremonies.

Beatty Street between Smithe and Georgia will also be closed to vehicle traffic but will remain open to pedestrians and cyclists.

Rolling road closures will be in effect in North and West Vancouver in 10 to 20 minute blocks as the torch relay rolls through those north shore communities Wednesday.

City of Vancouver officials are asking people travelling into downtown for the next few days to leave their cars at home and plan ahead to avoid Olympic-sized traffic headaches.

"We really still want people to come downtown and to take advantage of all the extra transit," said Dale Bracewell.

But using transit comes with its own set of delays. Road closures have lead to a big increase in transit use and wait times alike. TransLink has added extra service in many areas, but there are still hefty backlogs.

"Give yourself lots of extra time," advises Drew Snider of TransLink.

"We've been saying an hour for people making their normal commute. Maybe even a bit longer if you're going to an event."

The torch relay, which enters Vancouver at approximately 12:45 p.m. on Thursday, is expected to jam traffic on many key roadways.

Related: Thursday torch relay route

From Boundary Road, the torch will zigzag across the city before ending up at Yaletown's David Lam Park for a free party hosted by the Cultural Olympiad.

A full torch route, including projected arrival times, can be found at the Olympic Host City website.

Sea-to-Sky

Restrictions on the Sea-to-Sky Highway from Squamish to Whistler take effect Thursday.

Vehicles travelling north from Squamish between 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. are required to have a permit. A travel checkpoint will be in place at the Alice Lake turnoff.

If you have confirmed parking at a Whistler hotel, but do not have a permit, you can pick one up in advance of your travels at the Squamish permit office.

Non-resident travelers or anyone without parking can take a bus into Whistler, or can travel on the highway outside of the restricted times.

The restrictions will remain in effect until Feb. 28.

For full details of the Whistler and Sea-to-Sky parking and driving restrictions follow this link.

With files from CTV British Columbia's Stephen Smart