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Staying on car deck, hourly ferry schedule top committee agenda

Transportation

The chair of the Sunshine Coast Ferry Advisory Committee (FAC) is hoping travellers on the Langdale run will get an exemption from any BC Ferries rule preventing passengers from staying in vehicles parked on enclosed sections of the car decks.

Diana Mumford told the Jan. 19 meeting of the Sunshine Coast Regional District’s (SCRD) transportation committee that the FAC has approached BC Ferries, and they’re optimistic.

“There are a lot of people who stay downstairs,” Mumford said. “They’ve got young children, they’ve got pets, they don’t want to go upstairs with all the Brownies, Guides, Cubs and Beavers running around, etc. We’re waiting to hear, because the Queen of Surrey actually does have windows on all three decks.”

The company confirmed last December that it was looking at the ban in order to comply with Transport Canada regulations. A formal announcement was expected sometime this month, but Deborah Marshall of BC Ferries told Coast Reporter that they’re still in discussions with Transport Canada and likely won’t have the policy completed by Jan. 31.

SCRD chair Garry Nohr added that he thinks allowing people, especially regular commuters, to grab a nap in their cars helps prevent driver fatigue. “A lot of people get 30 or 40 winks during that trip – both coming and going – and it’s a safety factor on the roads too, if you think about it.”

Lorne Lewis, chair of the committee and director for Elphinstone, said there’s another group that benefits from not being forced to leave the car decks. “People who are coming back from surgeries or medical procedures – they don’t want to have to go upstairs.”

The committee also discussed the hourly schedule BC Ferries is using during berth construction at Langdale. The Queen of Surrey and the Queen of Coquitlam are serving the route until March 19, but the Surrey is only loading on the lower decks. Modified schedules will continue until April 6 with different ships.

Terminal manager Hanna Josephson said there were minor issues on the first day because some passengers were showing up for sailings on the previous schedule, and that caused overloads.

Marshall said there were two overloads out of Langdale last Thursday, and two out of Horseshoe Bay on Friday, all involving fewer than 24 vehicles. She also said that for Jan. 19 to 22, the route had a 99.2 per cent on-time performance, which is much better than usual.

In response to a question from West Howe Sound director Ian Winn about how the transition to having the Gambier/Keats route use Gibsons Harbour was going, Josephson said Ferries was taking steps to make travel as smooth as possible. “We have liaisons at the Gibsons Marina providing information [about the shuttle bus to Langdale] and providing parking.”

Transit manager Gordon Dykstra said the bus schedule has also been adjusted to coordinate with the new ferry sailings.

“We’re there,” he said “And we’re ready to drop off foot passenger traffic all day long.”