Post by Low Light Mike on Oct 31, 2007 15:31:44 GMT -8
Here's a new one: User-pay for BC Ferry terminal upgrades that are "demanded" by residents.
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www.gulfislands.net/news.asp?ID=1859
Fulford terminal upgrade would be user pay
Gulf Islands Driftwood, Wednesday, October 31, 2007
By sean mcintyre
They may not have christened a new era of understanding between island residents and B.C. Ferries management, but comments made by ferry company president and CEO David Hahn on Friday definitely handed south enders plenty to chew on.
Hahn suggested Salt Spring residents and visitors to the island pay for expedited improvements to the Fulford terminal through a special levy applied to travellers arriving to and departing from the island.
The comments came during a live broadcast of the CBC Victoria On the Island morning show from Fulford Harbour on October 26. Hahn’s response followed an audience member’s question about B.C. Ferries’ plans to alleviate the traffic gridlock caused by the unloading and loading of passengers.
Traffic management, pedestrian safety and emergency access in Fulford village have proven central themes to south-end residents engaged in the Islands Trust’s ongoing OCP review process.
Because Salt Spring Islanders choose to live on an island, Hahn told listeners, they should be the ones paying for any unscheduled upgrades to facilities or services.
Choosing to live in Fulford, he added, is a choice to live with the village’s congested streets.
Hahn was not available to comment when called on Monday and Tuesday. He did not specify the size of a potential surcharge nor indicate how much money would be needed to complete the upgrades.
According to B.C. Ferries’ terminal management schedule, a solution to the Fulford traffic congestion issue will not be considered until 2009 at the very earliest. Improvements to the terminal are not likely to occur until well into the next decade.
Ken Lee, president of the South Salt Spring Property Owners and Residents Association and a ferry advisory board member from 1993 to 1997, called Hahn’s behaviour inexcusable considering the severity of the Fulford predicament.
“He responded with unbelievable arrogance,” Lee said. “I felt very badly for the people of the village.”
Hahn has repeatedly dodged any and all responsibility to improve the village’s ferry facility, despite pleas from residents and emergency workers calling for a solution, he added.
“I was really horrified,” Lee said, calling for islanders to stand united in response to rising ferry fares and the corporation’s attitude.
“If Hahn is serious, the time is long overdue to make another clear statement to the government that we aren’t going to put up with this.” Public demonstrations and pressure from the Salt Spring Ferry Advisory Group in 1997, Lee said, led B.C. Ferries’ management, then operating as a Crown corporation, to freeze fares for two years.
Talk of the surcharge comes at a time of unprecedented fare increases, with ticket prices slated to jump 89 per cent between 2003 and 2011.
Harold Swierenga, chair of the Salt Spring Island Ferry Advisory Committee, said the idea of a ferry terminal improvement fee is nothing new, but was surprised Hahn raised the issue Friday morning.
“I really don’t think it is going to come to that,” Swierenga said. “I’m sure B.C. Ferries would love it if we started giving them money, but that is certainly not the way we want to go about this.”
Swierenga said he is confident a final terminal solution can be developed by 2012 without any additional levies, surcharges or improvement fees.
“I have had a verbal commitment [to solve the problem] within five years,” he said. “If we want to accelerate it significantly, that’s when the user fee would come in.”
A similar user surcharge model was proposed for Bowen Island, where residents finally deemed the plan unworkable.
Swierenga said improving B.C. Ferries’ Tsawwassen, Swartz Bay and north coast terminals is the corporation’s top priority. The Salt Spring Island Ferry Advisory Committee’s next public meeting will be held in November.
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www.gulfislands.net/news.asp?ID=1859
Fulford terminal upgrade would be user pay
Gulf Islands Driftwood, Wednesday, October 31, 2007
By sean mcintyre
They may not have christened a new era of understanding between island residents and B.C. Ferries management, but comments made by ferry company president and CEO David Hahn on Friday definitely handed south enders plenty to chew on.
Hahn suggested Salt Spring residents and visitors to the island pay for expedited improvements to the Fulford terminal through a special levy applied to travellers arriving to and departing from the island.
The comments came during a live broadcast of the CBC Victoria On the Island morning show from Fulford Harbour on October 26. Hahn’s response followed an audience member’s question about B.C. Ferries’ plans to alleviate the traffic gridlock caused by the unloading and loading of passengers.
Traffic management, pedestrian safety and emergency access in Fulford village have proven central themes to south-end residents engaged in the Islands Trust’s ongoing OCP review process.
Because Salt Spring Islanders choose to live on an island, Hahn told listeners, they should be the ones paying for any unscheduled upgrades to facilities or services.
Choosing to live in Fulford, he added, is a choice to live with the village’s congested streets.
Hahn was not available to comment when called on Monday and Tuesday. He did not specify the size of a potential surcharge nor indicate how much money would be needed to complete the upgrades.
According to B.C. Ferries’ terminal management schedule, a solution to the Fulford traffic congestion issue will not be considered until 2009 at the very earliest. Improvements to the terminal are not likely to occur until well into the next decade.
Ken Lee, president of the South Salt Spring Property Owners and Residents Association and a ferry advisory board member from 1993 to 1997, called Hahn’s behaviour inexcusable considering the severity of the Fulford predicament.
“He responded with unbelievable arrogance,” Lee said. “I felt very badly for the people of the village.”
Hahn has repeatedly dodged any and all responsibility to improve the village’s ferry facility, despite pleas from residents and emergency workers calling for a solution, he added.
“I was really horrified,” Lee said, calling for islanders to stand united in response to rising ferry fares and the corporation’s attitude.
“If Hahn is serious, the time is long overdue to make another clear statement to the government that we aren’t going to put up with this.” Public demonstrations and pressure from the Salt Spring Ferry Advisory Group in 1997, Lee said, led B.C. Ferries’ management, then operating as a Crown corporation, to freeze fares for two years.
Talk of the surcharge comes at a time of unprecedented fare increases, with ticket prices slated to jump 89 per cent between 2003 and 2011.
Harold Swierenga, chair of the Salt Spring Island Ferry Advisory Committee, said the idea of a ferry terminal improvement fee is nothing new, but was surprised Hahn raised the issue Friday morning.
“I really don’t think it is going to come to that,” Swierenga said. “I’m sure B.C. Ferries would love it if we started giving them money, but that is certainly not the way we want to go about this.”
Swierenga said he is confident a final terminal solution can be developed by 2012 without any additional levies, surcharges or improvement fees.
“I have had a verbal commitment [to solve the problem] within five years,” he said. “If we want to accelerate it significantly, that’s when the user fee would come in.”
A similar user surcharge model was proposed for Bowen Island, where residents finally deemed the plan unworkable.
Swierenga said improving B.C. Ferries’ Tsawwassen, Swartz Bay and north coast terminals is the corporation’s top priority. The Salt Spring Island Ferry Advisory Committee’s next public meeting will be held in November.
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