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In defence of ferries

Editor: I am a retired professional civil engineer who has been living on the Coast for over 20 years - certainly not one of the "brilliant people" referred to in your editorial (Coast Reporter, Oct. 5), but I do rise to the challenge.

Editor:

I am a retired professional civil engineer who has been living on the Coast for over 20 years - certainly not one of the "brilliant people" referred to in your editorial (Coast Reporter, Oct. 5), but I do rise to the challenge.

Living up to the sapper motto (I was a sapper officer in World War II) - "the difficult we do at once, the impossible will take a little longer" - the answer is yes.

Yes, a road to Squamish is possible. I understand that logging roads already exist. As to island hopping, yes to a combination of roads, bridges and tunnels. Any bridge would require a lift span for ferries to sail through.

As to cost - that is a different story.

For the cost of such projects, you could probably buy a fleet of ferries available to depart every half hour. Philosophically it is also a different story. It is the ferry that makes the Sunshine Coast what it is - paradise separated from a crowded metropolis. Yes, like most of us, I've had to wait over three hours for a sailing, but it is worth the sacrifice - a little sacrifice for a greater good. We live in Langdale and see the ferry ramps go up prior to sailing - and we are safe from invasion for a while. Hurray!

Bernard McGrath, Langdale