BC Ferries and the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure (MOTI) are under fire this week after what only could be described as traffic chaos at the Horseshoe Bay ferry terminal over the B.C. Day long weekend.
Travellers experienced incredible lines of traffic, miscommunication, sailings that left the dock without being fully loaded and the travelling public fuming all over social media about the situation.
Yes, it was a long weekend, which meant a lot more traffic than an average summer weekend. And yes, there are three routes that go out of the Horseshoe Bay terminal, which added to the increased congestion. But, if you think we are going to give BC Ferries and MOTI a pass on this one — think again.
The main reason for the delays was the construction currently ongoing to the Nelson Creek Bridge. This construction meant that only two lanes were available approaching the terminal. Despite signs, flaggers and West Vancouver Police, travellers were still confused as to where to go and where to line up. Many who took to social media to vent their frustrations did not know about the tickets being handed out by ferry staff to move lanes from outside the terminal through the toll booths and into the terminal area itself.
Many were also questioning why MOTI didn’t stop construction for the weekend.
According to MOTI, stopping construction would not have been safe and MOTI believes there was enough signage and notice that travellers should have been able to follow the procedures.
All that chaos meant several sailings on Friday left Horseshoe Bay under full capacity. Ferries made that call to try to keep the sailings on time. An additional sailing was added that evening, but let’s face it, at that point, the frustration levels were already at a breaking point.
Both BC Ferries and MOTI failed miserably last weekend. They can both claim there was sufficient communication and procedures in place. They can blame the heavy traffic all they want, but they should have anticipated this.
Both should have issued a joint news release two weeks prior to the long weekend explaining the situation, what the procedures were and what signage to watch out for. We would have been glad to help them get that message out. Instead, they are stuck answering questions about how incompetent they were, apologizing again to the travelling public, and making the idea of travelling to the Sunshine Coast unappealing to many.
