Editor:
Let’s look at the numbers: The Queen of Surrey ferry burns approximately 1,300 litres of diesel fuel for each one-way trip between Langdale and Horseshoe Bay. At maximum capacity (362 vehicles onboard) that amounts to 3.6 litres per vehicle, and 3.6 litres of fuel is equal to 40 km of road travel for the average vehicle (an average mid-size car burns nine litres per 100 km). If a road connection were made across Anvil Island, the approximate distance would be 40 km by road between Langdale and Horseshoe Bay. The numbers would indicate that, when running at 100 per cent capacity, the ferry fuel use is equal to what 362 vehicles would use travelling a distance of 40 km.
But the Sunshine Coast ferry runs on average at less than half of vehicle capacity. That is an average of 161 vehicles per trip, which equals eight litres per vehicle transported by ferry. And that’s more than twice the fuel a car would use travelling by the Anvil Island route. The ferry is obviously an inefficient method of transportation, when an alternative such as this is available.
And what is worse, marine engines have significantly higher rates of pollution than auto engines (as there have been significant improvements made to automobile engine emissions over the past decades, while marine engines have not kept pace).
By implementing a fixed link we conserve over 4.5 million litres of fuel each year (not counting fuel used at the terminals) and better still: we reduce carbon emission and improve the health of the planet.
Tunneling through Anvil Island makes sense, as it would provide much of the construction aggregate, and minimize the expropriation of private properties.
Hal Lindhagen, Halfmoon Bay
