New Westminster plans passenger ferry service from Quay to Queensborough

[SpongeG]

New Westminster plans passenger ferry service from Quay to Queensborough

Kenneth ChanJun 06, 2017 2:00 pm

A new passenger ferry service across the Fraser River could become New Westminster’s equivalent of the AquaBus and False Creek Ferries that run in Vancouver.

The City of New Westminster is planning to start a new passenger ferry service across the Fraser River from a dock near the River Market to the Queensborough neighbourhood.

A request for proposals issued by the City of New Westminster earlier this spring states the municipal government is looking for an experienced private operator to run a pilot passenger ferry service.

The service would run from a dock under the Inn at the Quay near River Market in downtown New Westminster to a dock at Port Royal in Queensborough.


The distance between the two docks is roughly 1 km, which means it would take a small vessel between five and 10 minutes to make a crossing.


Proposed route of the new passenger-only ferry service from the Inn at the Quay to Queensborough. (City of New Westminster)


...

http://dailyhive.com/vancouver/new-w...form=hootsuite

[Pinion]

I guess that means they gave up on the pedestrian bridge.

[SpongeG]

yeah it mentions in the full article, the price for the bridge came in at $37 million and the city only planned for $11 million and the ferry option is much cheaper, better than nothing

[retro_orange]

Originally Posted by Pinion

I guess that means they gave up on the pedestrian bridge.

Unfortunately too expensive at this point. Fingers crossed for 10-20 years when more of Queensborough and Downtown have more population density to make it feasible.

[flipper316]

why not just add sidewalks to that railway bridge.

[jollyburger]

Originally Posted by flipper316

why not just add sidewalks to that railway bridge.

Well if they need a new pedestrian bridge to be high enough to allow marine traffic through then you would assume the railway swing bridge is left open most of the time.

I wonder how much marine traffic they would have to deal with?

[jollyburger]

The money set aside was from the provincial government when they built the casino.

http://www.newwestrecord.ca/news/new...vice-1.7064719

Who would be stupid enough to run a ferry on this route?

[Millennium2002]

I can see this working rather successfully if it becomes a part of the TransLink network as it will be a natural feeder for SkyTrains and buses departing from New Westminster Station. Heck, it could go a long way in providing a backup or alternative route to the Queensborough Bridge, which can be severely congested at times and is often closed due to major accidents.

[CanSpice]

Originally Posted by Millennium2002

I can see this working rather successfully if it becomes a part of the TransLink network as it will be a natural feeder for SkyTrains and buses departing from New Westminster Station. Heck, it could go a long way in providing a backup or alternative route to the Queensborough Bridge, which can be severely congested at times and is often closed due to major accidents.

There's no way this would provide nearly enough volume to do what you suggest. They're not talking SeaBus-style ferries, they're talking False Creek-style ferries.

They're putting a ferry in because the talk of a pedestrian bridge has been kicking around for years and years. The money's been there for a while, and a number of the new developments in Queensborough have used the bridge in their marketing materials. People have bought in Port Royal expecting to be able to walk to downtown New West, and without a bridge they'll feel that they've been victims of a bait and switch, so doing a trial run of a ferry (which may not even happen, as they don't have a provider lined up yet) would help appease these people a tiny bit.

[logicbomb]

Bait and switch is right. I remember a realtor trying to inform me that a 2 lane + pedestrian bridge was being looked at to connect Port Royal to New West. I laughed at him....

[Bdawe]

In recent conversation with a NW councillor, I learned two things

they can't put some walkways on the rail bridge because the rail bridge is set up by the Port to close for trains, rather than open for ship traffic, and as such isn't normally cross-able. The Port is unwilling to make any concessions to marine priority in that location.

Secondly, the ferry they're discussing would be with bigger boats than the false creek ferries, as those would be unable to deal with Fraser River currents.

I agree with the above point that this should be integrated with translink.

[POCO]

I have to imagine that for this to work there has to be some sort of connection with Translink's network. There would have to be buses taking people to the pier at Port Royal. Then a quick boat ride puts you a couple blocks to Skytrain.

I'd like to see this work but the realistic side of me sees this either never taking off or closing due to poor ridership/lack of funds and a real lack of will on behalf of the City.

Maybe Translink should have a fast passenger ferry from New West to a pier near Bridgeport with a couple quick stops along the way

[jollyburger]

In the end someone is going to lose money running this service and they'll upgrade the docks for no reason. At least they aren't stupid enough to think Translink would help fund their $30+ million dollar pedestrian bridge.

Why couldn’t a ferry service be put in place instead of a bridge like at Granville Island?

Metro Vancouver has previously done a study of potential water crossings in the region and found that, outside of peak summer periods, the demand for such a service across the North Arm in New Westminster would be low outside of peak periods. Due to strong currents in the river at this location, a smaller ferry would not be suitable and a large passenger ferry would be required, resulting in significant operating costs for a relatively low demand. The agreement with the province for the provision of $6.3 million in “Development Assistance Compensation” (DAC) funds from the casino require that a permanent connection between Queensborough and Quayside be constructed and a ferry system would not meet this condition for provincial funding.

https://www.newwestcity.ca/database/...Q_Sheet(5).pdf

[VarBreStr18]

Originally Posted by SpongeG

New Westminster plans passenger ferry service from Quay to Queensborough

Kenneth ChanJun 06, 2017 2:00 pm

A new passenger ferry service across the Fraser River could become New Westminster’s equivalent of the AquaBus and False Creek Ferries that run in Vancouver.

The City of New Westminster is planning to start a new passenger ferry service across the Fraser River from a dock near the River Market to the Queensborough neighbourhood.

A request for proposals issued by the City of New Westminster earlier this spring states the municipal government is looking for an experienced private operator to run a pilot passenger ferry service.

The service would run from a dock under the Inn at the Quay near River Market in downtown New Westminster to a dock at Port Royal in Queensborough.


The distance between the two docks is roughly 1 km, which means it would take a small vessel between five and 10 minutes to make a crossing.


Proposed route of the new passenger-only ferry service from the Inn at the Quay to Queensborough. (City of New Westminster)


...

http://dailyhive.com/vancouver/new-w...form=hootsuite

like this idea. It will become a tourism highlight too. As the project picks up , add a few more stops to become Fraser river tour. Cheaper, quicker to start up, and fun.

[dpogue]

Originally Posted by VarBreStr18

like this idea. It will become a tourism highlight too. As the project picks up , add a few more stops to become Fraser river tour. Cheaper, quicker to start up, and fun.

I'd love to see to a passenger ferry connection between the River Market, Westminster Pier Park, and Sapperton Landing Park (although that's totally unrealistic at the moment). Maybe in several years when Sapperton Landing is finally connected to a SkyTrain station and Pier Park is extended further along.

[jollyburger]

Originally Posted by VarBreStr18

like this idea. It will become a tourism highlight too. As the project picks up , add a few more stops to become Fraser river tour. Cheaper, quicker to start up, and fun.

No tourist wants to go to Port Royal. If there were tourists it would be a 100 seat ferry.

[twoNeurons]

Non-starter. Build a bridge, or build nothing at all.

[aberdeen5698]

Originally Posted by twoNeurons

Non-starter. Build a bridge, or build nothing at all.

The ferry service has the advantage of being cheap to implement and gives the city a chance to estimate demand. If they're smart, they'll take some of the money earmarked for the bridge and use it to fund a free ferry so they can see what sort of usage a free bridge would be likely to get.

[CanSpice]

Originally Posted by twoNeurons

Non-starter. Build a bridge, or build nothing at all.

They already tried, but when you have $6m to spend and the bridge is going to cost $35m to build, you can't just put one in. Unless you feel like chipping in $30m.

[Bdawe]

Originally Posted by CanSpice

They already tried, but when you have $6m to spend and the bridge is going to cost $35m to build, you can't just put one in. Unless you feel like chipping in $30m.

One way out of that problem would be to widen the pool of stake holders by building a road bridge.

Of course, residential Queensborough or the Quay won't want to be flooded with cars and trucks. So don't let them - reserve it for use of buses and emergency vehicles. Re-route the 410 from 22nd Avenue Station to New Westminster Station by way of Ewen Avenue and Quayside Drive, and the benefits are:

• base-level 10-12 minute bus service in Queensborough and the Quay along a straighter line from Richmond
• Access to a more central train station with more potential destinations for Lulu Island originating passengers
• improved access to Hamilton Transit Centre for other buses, avoiding the frequent congestion of all the highways out of Queensborough & Annacis Island
• faster access to the Royal Columbian Hospital from Queensborough
• originally desired pedestrian connectivity benefits.

I could be wrong, but I reckon you could squeeze a bridge in there meeting clearance requirements and wheelchair grades between Quayside Drive and Star Crescscent.