Some local politicians are suggesting that with overloads and delays becoming more frequent on the Langdale route, it might be time to start increasing pressure on BC Ferries and the provincial government.
The issue came up at the June 22 meeting of the Sunshine Coast Regional District (SCRD) board as directors were going around the table giving updates from their areas.
Jeremy Valeriote, director for Gibsons and Gibsons council representative on the Ferry Advisory Committee, said he got a call from the organizers of the Gibsons Grind Gran Fondo cycling event after BC Ferries made a last minute change to the Langdale-Horseshoe Bay schedule because a ship was out of service.
The changes included cancelling the sailing that cyclists from the Lower Mainland were expecting to take to get to the Sunshine Coast. “They were scrambling to try to deal with that,” he said
“I think the time is right for us to start applying a bit of pressure… I don’t think we’re asking too much,” Valeriote continued. “There’s only so much the Ferry Advisory Committee can do, and with political pressure, I think we could have a decent service that doesn’t cancel important community sailings on a few days notice.”
Roberts Creek director Mark Lebbell said he wanted to echo Valeriote’s comments, noting that he thought they were “reflective of the community.”
SCRD chair and Halfmoon Bay director Garry Nohr took up the topic as well, reminding the board that the group of coastal regional district chairs formed to lobby the government on ferries was still active and that he continues to work with the chair of the Powell River Regional District on issues specific to the upper and lower Sunshine Coast. “The two of us are waiting to find out who the new minister will be … and we’re going to try to make an appointment to discuss the concerns.”
BC Ferries is in the final stages of a public consultation on ways to improve the Langdale-Horseshoe Bay schedule to get better on-time performance.
And Nohr added that when he had a chance to be interviewed by the consultant he made the point that hourly service had worked well in the spring and that no matter what other schedule changes are floated, there has to be a 5:30 p.m. sailing out of Horseshoe Bay for commuters.
“We’ve said for five years now in every meeting with the [transportation] minister, ‘Whatever you do, start with 5:30 and work your schedule around that.’ That’s what I pushed again the last time.”
BC Ferries said this week that after sea trials on Monday, the Coastal Inspiration was expected to be back in service June 30, allowing the Queen of Coquitlam to go back to its regular duty on the Langdale route following the previously announced summer schedule.
Darin Guenette, manager of public affairs, told Coast Reporter that there were overloads on the weekend, but they weren’t the direct result of the different sailing times and there was no impact to on-time performance. “It does appear that, if the planned schedule had been in place, there would have been sailings offered closer to the times that these three larger overloads occurred,” he explained. “So, it is safe to say that there may have been smaller and/or fewer overloads.”
As part of its schedule consultation, BC Ferries will have people doing surveys at the Langdale and Horseshoe Bay terminals at various times over the Canada Day weekend. The online survey is available at: www.bcferries.com/about/ontime-sc
