The excitement of the Olympics in Beijing died faster than the seven-year momentum gearing up for the 2008 Games.

Well, people’s enthusiasm for the 17 days still continue as they recall the most memorable moments for them, from Usain Bolt’s amazing 100m dash, Liu Xiang’s dramatic pull out from the 110m hurdles, and Michael Phelps’ eight gold medals.

After the Games ended, there were heavy rains that led to gorgeous blue skies and low humidity from Sunday to Tuesday. But today the weather was “overcast” and the familiar swampy gray atmosphere was back.

Nevertheless, the amazing weather we’ve been having (manipulated or not) revved up the debate of whether the odd and even license plate number exercise should continue after September 20. That’s when all 3.3 million cars will be back clogging the roads again.

In a recent online discussion, more than 400,000 Chinese weighed in about the issue. Almost half wanted to see the car restrictions become a permanent fixture in the city, while the others, mostly car owners, disagreed.

“I support long-term car restrictions. We have made some mistakes in the past. Now we should correct them and return blue skies to our children,” wrote He Luzhu on the website of the Beijing Youth Daily.

“The sky was blue during the Olympics. It’s so much better than those foggy days,” said a repair worker surnamed He.

But those opposed to the strict measure felt it was not the solution for Beijing.

“Only after the government makes great progress in improving public transportation should we discuss whether to keep the restrictions. I love blue skies very much. But I had to drive a car because I could not stand being packed in a bus for six hours a day,” said an anonymous person online.

Sound familiar?

The Beijing Traffic Authority did report receiving comments from drivers that they were comfortable with the restrictions and hoping they would continue.

However, with less than 20 days to go until the end of the car restrictions, it doesn’t seem possible the government will come up with a brilliant plan to please everyone.

If the car ban is made permanent, car owners may be driven to buy a second car, as some did already before the Olympics. And that wouldn’t solve anything.

At the same time, the government has started increasing taxes and penalties on those who buy gas-guzzlers like SUVs. However it needs to do more to encourage more car buyers to more fuel-efficient cars and even hybrids. So far I’ve only seen two or three Toyota Prius on the road.

Now that people have seen the benefits of the car restrictions, temporarily closing down factories and construction sites, they want to continue seeing blue skies and breathe cleaner air.

While the athletes and their accomplishments were memorable, who knew the lasting legacy of the 2008 Games would be about the sky?