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Islanders continue to lobby B.C. Ferries Corporation to save public access to the Langdale float after the company said they will cut access on Oct. 15.
Mark Stefanson from B.C. Ferries told the Sunshine Coast Regional District (SCRD) transportation committee May 4 that lobbying was a wasted effort, but the West Howe Sound Langdale Access Working Group started a petition that they will present to B.C. Ferries anyway.
"Our objective is to preserve public access to Langdale terminal by boats while assisting B.C. Ferries in achieving their safety objectives," said Stu Watson, secretary for the committee, in an email to Coast Reporter.
The petition was sent to all island residents the evening of May 29. By June 10, 616 people had signed their names on the petition asking B.C. Ferries to reconsider their decision.
Bill Baines of Gambier Island signed the on-line petition.
"B.C. Ferries is deploying a heavy-handed approach to an easily solvable problem," Baines said. "They should be improving local water access to the terminal instead of eliminating it. The public relations and customer service aspects of their initiative are profound."
The petition asks the Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure to require B.C. Ferries to keep the Langdale dock open. The committee proposed West Howe Sound communities undertake a public education program reminding boaters to observe a safe distance from vessels in and near Langdale terminal.
They also ask B.C. Ferries to establish and mark a safe small-boat channel in the approaches to Langdale terminal, that the minister endorse the SCRD's request that B.C. Ferries attend meetings with a goal of maintaining access to the Langdale terminal float and that B.C. Ferries attend the meetings with the clear objective of maintaining the public access at Langdale terminal.
Theresa Huntly added comments to her petition signature that echoed several others' sentiments that the Stormaway foot passenger ferry that holds a contract with B.C. Ferries to provide service to the islands is not enough.
"As a full-time Gambier Island resident who commutes to work in the Lower Mainland via the Langdale ferry, I am dependent on dock access outside the limited Stormaway service," Huntly wrote. "For early morning departures or after 6:30 p.m., I am forced to use the water taxi or private boat to get on and off the island."
In their response to B.C. Ferries announcement and refusal to consider finding a way to maintain the Langdale float, the SCRD board planned to further discuss a motion at last night's meeting (Thursday) to consider charging the corporation for using the district's docks on Gambier and Keats islands which they have been accessing free of charge for years.
"We want to work with the regional district to find a solution, but status quo is not an option," said B.C. Ferries spokeswoman Deborah Marshall.
The petition can be viewed at www.gopetition.com/online/28104.html. Click on "signatures" in the top right hand corner to view others' signatures and comments.
