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BC Ferries: Listen up

Editor: On the evening of June 9, once again, the bypass in Langdale - a public road - becomes B.C. Ferries' overflow parking lot.

Editor:

On the evening of June 9, once again, the bypass in Langdale - a public road - becomes B.C. Ferries' overflow parking lot.

Driving to work on the Port Mellon Highway going down the bypass, I have to slow down to 50 km from a normal posted speed limit of 80 km, then have to stop for a flag person at the bottom of a steep hill, causing great stress to the braking system of my vehicle. Then I'm asked where I'm going, which is nobody's business but my own.

I proceed the rest of the way down, to find both lanes blocked with ferry traffic, and no access to the left turn lane. I assume left lane is full of customers with reservations, which is another pet peeve. It should be first come, first served, first on, first off.

I thought the overflow parking for the ferry was on Smith Road?

If BC Ferries wants to use the bypass as a parking lot, maybe they should reimburse the $10 million the taxpayers paid for the bypass to nowhere.

Then there's the five- or 10-minute cut-off before boarding, depending on which end you are at, which they say is to keep the ferry on time. That's laughable!

Sometimes, after driving long hours to make a ferry, then the gate is closed, and you wait 10 to 20 minutes, pay, then drive down to the lower parking area just to see the ferry pulling away. Well, enjoy the two-hour wait.

Why, on route three, do we have three different schedules - summer, off-season and winter? Set a schedule you can keep.

Richard Scofield, Gibsons