Post by Ferryman on Jul 11, 2006 17:53:39 GMT -8
By Jean COMPTON
The Ladysmith Chronicle
July 11, 2006
Crofton, BC Ferries, and North Cowichan municipality have all agreed on a concept for the redevelopment of the Crofton to Saltspring ferry terminal, but work on the project won’t start any time soon.
North Cowichan municipal council approved a revised plan last week and on Thursday, at a public meeting, Crofton residents okayed the plan worked out by their advisory committee and BC Ferries.
“We’re happy with the solution that we have now jointly come up with with BC Ferries,” said Wayne MacDonald, spokesman for the Crofton Community Advisory Committee.
“We started with a mandate of not impacting the green space and we’ve achieved that, and we wanted all ferry traffic to be on the north side of Chaplin Street and I think we’ve achieved that.”
The plan calls for a storage lane for pre-loading on the north side of Chaplin Street, and a ticket booth and terminal compound on BC Ferries property, which would not encroach on the green space adjacent to the Old Crofton School Museum.
The intersection of Queen and Chaplin would be controlled by a light, activated by the ticket booth operator, to ensure no conflicts occur between traffic to the boat launch or on Chaplin Street.
The storage lane could accommodate 28 vehicles, while the compound will have room for 31.
On heavy traffic days, additional traffic could be stored on the trestle.
“The long-term plan is to rebuild the trestle to make sure they have adequate storage on the foreshore as well as on the trestle,” said Jim Dias, administrator for North Cowichan.
Meanwhile Christy Ridout, a BC Ferries planner said that her department will be in contact with the community and the municipality to work out the details on the redevelopment.
“We do have a major hurdle that we’ve just gotten over and that was getting approval in principle,” said Ridout.
The plan is subject to approval by BC Ferries executive and funding availability.
“It’s been a long process up until now. I don’t want to wager a guess as to how much longer we’re going to take,” said Ridout when asked for a timeline.
In a related issue, CCAC spokesman Wayne MacDonald said that with the increase in walk-on passengers to Saltspring, parking has become a problem.
He said that many people who work on Saltspring
cannot afford to live there and must commute to work on the ferry.
He said that as street parking is filled up, people have started parking in the boat launch parking area, which has led to confrontations.
The Ladysmith Chronicle
July 11, 2006
Crofton, BC Ferries, and North Cowichan municipality have all agreed on a concept for the redevelopment of the Crofton to Saltspring ferry terminal, but work on the project won’t start any time soon.
North Cowichan municipal council approved a revised plan last week and on Thursday, at a public meeting, Crofton residents okayed the plan worked out by their advisory committee and BC Ferries.
“We’re happy with the solution that we have now jointly come up with with BC Ferries,” said Wayne MacDonald, spokesman for the Crofton Community Advisory Committee.
“We started with a mandate of not impacting the green space and we’ve achieved that, and we wanted all ferry traffic to be on the north side of Chaplin Street and I think we’ve achieved that.”
The plan calls for a storage lane for pre-loading on the north side of Chaplin Street, and a ticket booth and terminal compound on BC Ferries property, which would not encroach on the green space adjacent to the Old Crofton School Museum.
The intersection of Queen and Chaplin would be controlled by a light, activated by the ticket booth operator, to ensure no conflicts occur between traffic to the boat launch or on Chaplin Street.
The storage lane could accommodate 28 vehicles, while the compound will have room for 31.
On heavy traffic days, additional traffic could be stored on the trestle.
“The long-term plan is to rebuild the trestle to make sure they have adequate storage on the foreshore as well as on the trestle,” said Jim Dias, administrator for North Cowichan.
Meanwhile Christy Ridout, a BC Ferries planner said that her department will be in contact with the community and the municipality to work out the details on the redevelopment.
“We do have a major hurdle that we’ve just gotten over and that was getting approval in principle,” said Ridout.
The plan is subject to approval by BC Ferries executive and funding availability.
“It’s been a long process up until now. I don’t want to wager a guess as to how much longer we’re going to take,” said Ridout when asked for a timeline.
In a related issue, CCAC spokesman Wayne MacDonald said that with the increase in walk-on passengers to Saltspring, parking has become a problem.
He said that many people who work on Saltspring
cannot afford to live there and must commute to work on the ferry.
He said that as street parking is filled up, people have started parking in the boat launch parking area, which has led to confrontations.