Swartz Bay connection issues debated By Susan Lundy - Gulf Islands Driftwood
Published: November 11, 2009 10:00 AM
Islanders looking for a “hole-in-the-fence” travel scenario at Swartz Bay terminal can effectively board up that option.
At a Salt Spring Ferry Advisory Committee meeting last Monday night, the company’s executive vice president and chief financial officer Rob Clarke said unequivocally that any in-terminal turnaround option for Salt Spring ferry users looking to make a connection to Tsawwassen will not happen.
“It has been studied and studied and studied again,” said Clarke, referring to islanders’ request to have faster vehicle access to the Swartz Bay toll booth through a gated “fence” in the terminal.
“It is not affordable, so we are not going to do it,” Clarke said.
He also stressed that BC Ferries does not offer a connecting service to Tsawwassen from Salt Spring.
However, he added, Salt Spring residents who make a reservation on a Tsawwassen-bound ferry have a 20-minute cut-off time rather than the 30 minutes enforced on everyone else.
He said this policy has been in effect for some time — even if not all toll booth operators know it.
The hole-in-the-fence turnaround scenario and the shorter reservation cut-off time are both part of a larger issue for Fulford Harbour ferry users hoping to make a connection to Tsawwassen through Swartz Bay.
Salt Spring’s Skeena Queen schedule gives a 20- to 35-minute turnaround window for those attempting to sail to Tsawwassen on the odd-hour departures from Swartz Bay.
The hole-in-the-fence option existed unofficially for several years, but currently Tsawwassen-bound Skeena drivers must follow a turnaround route that exits the terminal and then doubles back to the toll booth.
Following a community-wide appeal by FAC member Scott Simmons for islanders to turn out to the FAC meeting and plead for a return of the “hole-in-the-fence” option, several people spoke on the subject.
“It is an accident waiting to happen,” said Curt Firestone, describing the “adrenaline rush” felt by islanders making a “mad dash” off the Skeena, down the highway and back to the toll booth in time to make the connection.
The situation is made worse, he added, when the Skeena arrives late at Swartz Bay and off-loading occurs at the same time as a larger ferry arriving from Tsawwassen.
Under these circumstances, Salt Spring vehicles are routed through the Swartz Bay parking lot to a terminal overpass — through two traffic lights — and then onto the highway turnaround route.
“A good engineer should be able to figure out how to route us to the toll booth,” Firestone said. “Otherwise, there is going to be an accident.”
But Clarke said BC Ferries has spent “tens of thousands of dollars” studying the situation and “it just isn’t possible.”
“It is not doable with the movement of the toll booth [following recent terminal construction at Swartz Bay],” he said, adding it would cost $5 million to construct a left-hand lane enabling the hole-in-the-fence scenario.
“There is no option for another lane. It is not going to happen.”
Clarke said he understands drivers coming off the ferry from Salt Spring want to be on the next ferry to Tsawwassen, but reiterated that “BC Ferries has a policy that we don’t offer connections.”
Speakers at the meeting also asked BC Ferries to respond to other options that could help local Tsawwassen-bound ferry users access the Swartz Bay toll booth faster.
The ferry company said “preferred loading” — a scenario where those travelling from Fulford to Tsawwassen would be directed into the Skeena’s centre lanes, which traditionally off-load first — would only slow down the loading process.
“It is better to just load and disload,” said Clarke.
Clarke also refused to consider any travel options that prioritized Salt Spring travel to Tsawwassen — such as “jumping the line” over Vancouver Island travellers’ access to the ferry.
Speakers at the meeting continued to voice frustration, however, with a process that makes it difficult to guarantee Tsawwassen travel and actually puts Salt Spring at a disadvantage compared to Vancouver Island travellers when it comes to making a paid reservation.
Speaker Cindy Rabson, who frequently commutes to work in Vancouver, pointed out that it is impossible for Fulford ferry users to book a reservation through Swartz Bay because Skeena travellers can’t be guaranteed on-time arrival of that ferry or their subsequent ability to make the reservation cut-off time.
Although the re-announced 20-minute cut-off time for islanders does change this scenario, speakers remained uncertain if even this allows enough time given the out-of-terminal turnaround route, which can be time-consuming to take.
Clarke said there is no way the cut-off time can be reduced to less than 20 minutes.
He also said it is unlikely any tweak in the Skeena schedule could be undertaken to offer any relief.
Former Salt Spring FAC chair Bob Jones also voiced frustration, saying BC Ferries appears unwilling to solve some problems, including the Fulford-to-Tsawwassen issue.
“Imaginative ideas have been put forward and some can be done with very little money,” Jones said.
“This could be solved . . . I’m tired of hearing ‘it can’t be done.’”
He also pointed out that the company appears unable to disperse “top-down information,” especially considering many people in the room — and apparently some Swartz Bay toll booth operators — were unaware of the 20-minute islander reservation rule.
“The front-line people do not know what is going on,” he said.
Clarke promised to take this issue back to the company.
In the meantime, an email sent by Simmons through the Salt Spring Community List informed islanders of the 20-minute reservation cut-off policy and indicated success for those using it.
“Not all the staff at the gates know [the policy],” Simmons said. “However, they should be able to call a supervisor and confirm this is the procedure for throughfare customers coming from Salt Spring.”
He also acknowledged the “hole-in-the-fence” issue is no longer on the table.
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