Following last week’s open houses, the so-called Langdale Bridge Link has emerged among supporters of a fixed link between the Sunshine Coast and the Sea to Sky corridor as the option that’s likely to be the most practical.
The concept for a pair of bridges via Anvil Island also seems to be the odds-on favourite to be singled out for a more in depth feasibility study if the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure (MOTI) decides to take the idea any further.
But it also faces a hurdle none of the other options would. Anvil is part of the Islands Trust, which has a long-standing policy against fixed links.
The policy says, “It is Trust Council’s policy that no island in the Trust Area should be connected to Vancouver Island, the mainland or another island by a bridge or tunnel, notwithstanding the existing bridge between North and South Pender Islands.”
Dan Rogers is one of the Trustees for the Gambier Island Local Trust Area, which includes Anvil and the other smaller Islands in Howe Sound. He said there are about 18 properties on Anvil, mainly seasonal, along with the Daybreak Point Bible Camp.
According to Rogers, the Islands Trust took the position against fixed links because of its mandate to “preserve and protect the islands,” both for the residents and all British Columbians. “That’s the filter we look through … how does this preserve and protect or enhance the island experience, the way of life and the ecology of the islands?”
Rogers said he’s been in contact with Anvil Island property owners who have lots of questions and believe that route would have a severe impact on their homes, most of which are close to the possible bridge landings and causeway.
Full-time resident Jordan Smith said a fixed link could benefit him in some ways, but it would come at too great a cost.
“The North Shore is already a parking lot. The Sea to Sky Highway is already becoming congested with the growth of the Squamish region and beyond,” Smith said. “I am strongly against it on principle and what I believe is the greater good. However, I am not under any illusions the Liberals care what I think. If they want to build a bridge to the Sunshine Coast using Anvil as a footing, they will move ahead with their plans. The only group powerful enough to stop it might be the Squamish Nation.”
Shannon Fenton, the administrator of the Daybreak Point Bible Camp, told Coast Reporter they’re reviewing the material and talking to neighbouring property owners, and the camp’s board of directors will be discussing the issue soon.
“We would have concerns with any option that might take away from the natural beauty of Anvil Island and Howe Sound in general,” she said.
The Islands Trust policy was also an objection raised by opponents during a similar feasibility study for a link between Gabriola Island and Vancouver Island. The study, by engineering firm CH2M Hill, didn’t specifically point to the policy as a disqualifier to a fixed link being built, but it did note that a fixed link would be inconsistent with Gabriola’s official community plan.
The preliminary information provided at last week’s open houses by R.F. Binnie, the consultants on the Sunshine Coast study, characterizes the Anvil Island route as a worse fit with “community policies, character and identity” than a ferry or a road option. Most of Anvil Island is Crown land within Squamish Nation traditional territory, and Binnie’s analysis rates that route as a worse option when it comes to Aboriginal rights than the ferry. It rates the road as “much worse.”
MOTI is still accepting online comments at www.gov.bc.ca/sunshinecoasfixedlink. The deadline for submissions is Nov. 8.
