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Originally Posted by BCPhil
That would be absolutely terrible in all regards. I have no idea how that could possibly work. Even after spending hundreds of millions on upgrading Langdale into a multi berth port with triple the parking and roads for turning vehicles around, it would be stupid at best.
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Terrible yes, but it would play in to the Liberals plans. They would cut a money losing route from Powell River to Comox, funnel more traffic on to another money losing route from Saltery bay to Earles cove and get enough traffic for a new Mainland to Vancouver Island route that would still service North Vancouver and the interior of BC using the 99, along with Sunshine Coast. They would then be able to funnel even more traffic into Tssawassen, which they want to do regardless, and they would get to shut down Horseshoe bay once and for all (except for the Bowen island route). I dont agree with it, the ferries are part of the highway network and should be treated as such but I am saying what the province will be looking at, and what they could theoretically get away with if they had a fixed link.
Quote:
Originally Posted by BCPhil
No local arrives more than 30 minutes before a regular sailing. Unless you are leaving Langdale on a Sunday evening in camping season, 30 minutes is more than enough time.
Except for Friday evenings in the summer, I basically show up at a terminal, put the car in park for 5 minutes, then I'm rolling onto the ferry. Except maybe this year. This summer was the busiest I've ever seen the ferries.
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Locals most definitely arrive 30 min before unless you live in Gibsons which allows for more flexibility.
Quote:
Originally Posted by BCPhil
I haven't had a reservation in more than 6 years, and this summer was the first time in a long time I've shown up at the terminal and needed to wait a sailing. A few weekends ago in September I was leaving the island via Nanaimo on a Sunday around 7pm, and the 8:15 ferry was full from Duke point (that rarely happens even on a long weekend) and the 9:30 from Departure Bay was already 85% full. I got on the last ferry from Departure and it left with several cars not being able to get on. I can't remember the last time I've been on a 100% full last sailing. It don't think it has ever happened to me (and I almost always aim for the last sailing).
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Your talking about Vancouver island now.
Quote:
Originally Posted by BCPhil
And Vancouver Island has lots of industry, yet rely on ferries for connection to the mainland. So a road while great for getting around outside ferry schedules, it isn't going to be a total game changer for industry on the Sunshine coast.
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Vancouver Island suffers because of the ferries but is also 35,000 sq km with a million people, the provincial government and huge forestry idustry. And yet it still suffers because of the ferries.
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Originally Posted by Kisai
Are you really going to suggest that only one ferry was on the chopping block?
The Harrop and Glade ferries are being replaced and will be in service by 2018.
Yet...
A ferrytale existence
Like what I want to draw the comparison to is, that if a community is only reachable by ferry, then that community might want to keep it that way to prevent development. But that comes at a cost, and when the ferry is free to use, that means that community is being subsidized heavily by the government.
The Sunshine coast ferry isn't free. But how much is that route being subsidized by the large ferry routes? |
The Horseshoe bay Langdale ferry has profits of $10 million a year last I heard and subsidizes the rest of the ferry system. It is well used, with too few sailings and high prices for a 45 min sailing that many people use for actual commuting.
Anyways like I said a fixed link will be built to the sunshine coast but it will never be a island hopping bridge.