Editor:
There’s a lot to be said for being cut off from the Mainland. The Sunshine Coast, despite much development, can still be considered rural compared to Vancouver. We are still surrounded by forest, and wildlife still roams the streets. There isn’t a lot of crime because with the ferries you can’t make a quick getaway.
If there was 24-hour access, this would all change. We would be just another suburb of Vancouver, with lots of traffic, pollution, crime, noise. Development would increase tremendously and strain our already inadequate infrastructure.
We all know how long it takes to get on to the highway from side streets when there’s “ferry traffic.” Think how much longer it’ll take if there’s a constant stream of traffic. There would have to be stop lights at every intersection with the highway. With a fixed link, large trucks would choose to drive at night to avoid traffic. This would mean noise on the highway at night, instead of wonderful silence.
The ferries employ hundreds of people, whose jobs would be lost if ferries are replaced by a fixed link. As for the road to Vancouver via Squamish – anyone wanting to go to Vancouver to shop would spend half the day just driving there and back. Better to get to the ferry early and then, while you enjoy the scenery or play with your devices, get to the city a lot faster.
A fixed link would destroy the character of the Sunshine Coast. Many people, including myself, moved here to get away from the city; we don’t want the city brought over here.
It’s a good thing it’s all just political smoke and mirrors, because the Sunshine Coast is great just the way it is.
Cecilia Ohm-Eriksen, Sechelt
