Cortes Island’s Ferry Advisory committee met (via Webex, a Zoom-like conferencing app) on the afternoon of Wednesday September 27th at 12:30pm. The meeting had originally been scheduled as a “town hall” style event at Mansons Hall; however, at the last minute BC Ferries announced that their FAC meetings would be held online, due to threats of violence from the public.
Though such threatening behaviour seemed unlikely on Cortes Island, BCF’s policy apparently applies across the board. The last-minute change of venue caused some confusion, but approximately thirty people joined the videoconference call on Wednesday (including BC Ferries staff and FAC members).
FAC Chair Michael Lynch chaired the meeting, moving briskly through a fairly crowded agenda:
Mr Lynch announced the appointment of Cortes Islander Jan Boas as Vice Chair. Megan Caldwell, Regional Manager for Terminal Operations, gave a brief report on the summer season. On Route 23 (Campbell River-Quadra Island) the new two-ferry system had helped, she said, to reduce overloads. BCF had also been able to augment its staffing at that terminal. Route 24 (Quadra to Cortes), she admitted, continued to be “more of a challenge.”
A topic of interest to many Cortes residents is the timeline for full electrification of our local runs. Brian Anderson, VP of Strategy and Community Engagement, said there are four terminals currently on the list for the first phase of electrification: Quadra/Campbell River, and Nanaimo/Gabriola. Approval is pending, but expected, for the purchase of four all-electric ferries of the same “Island Class” design now used on Route 23. Upgrades to BC Hydro service for the terminals will also be necessary, but BCF expects to electrify these four terminals by 2026.
Plans to provide an Island Class ferry for Route 24 are in the works, with a major investment in berth replacement for both Whaletown Bay and Heriot Bay. Construction should begin in Fall of 2025, with completion by summer of 2026. Both terminals will then be compatible with the Island Class ferries.
BCF staff mentioned that the Island Class ferries have a more limited tidal range than the older ferries: there can be loading issues at tides lower than 6 feet or higher than 11 feet.
Tachek, Cortes Island’s familiar ferry, should be back in early October after its refit.
There was some discussion of assured loading, with questions about the status of Island Sea Farms’ live mussel truck and whether it is entitled to assured loading at high-demand times such as Monday and Thursday mornings. BCF staff said they would look into this.
Cortes residents expressed various concerns about the service. Mention was made of the rate of mechanical failures in recent months; there was a request for positive confirmation (such as a notice on the digital signboard) when an extra evening run will be made to bring overload vehicles home to Cortes. Schedules should be updated, one resident requested, to reflect the once-a-week fuelling delay, rather than reporting it as a service alert every week.
Cortes residents, worried about multiple sailing cancellations (whether due to weather or inadequate staffing), asked whether water taxi service would be provided by BCF if ferries were grounded for whole days at a time. BCF staff replied that it’s their intent to provide emergency water taxi service via local contractors, but they have run into issues with the quality of docks used for embarcation and debarcation; they are wary of the liability implications of using inadequately maintained docks, and are currently trying to resolve these issues.
Timeliness of communications was a common theme in complaints from local residents: sailing cancellations, some said, were not posted in time to save people from wasting their time in the lineup waiting for a ferry which would never arrive. One Cortes resident requested a BCF app for smartphones, that would provide up-to-date status and make it easier to top up the Experience card. BCF’s web site, he said, was “Byzantine” and difficult to use, particularly for card services.
But by far the most vexing issue for Cortes travellers seemed to be the load/unload order on Route 23. This issue evoked the strongest feelings of any on the agenda and was discussed at some length.
Many attendees confirmed that they had lined up “in plenty of time” at Campbell River, only to be rolled off last at Q-Cove — and in some cases left behind at Heriot Bay, while much later arrivals at Campbell River got to Heriot Bay first and were loaded before them. The word “unfair” was used by more than one Cortes resident. Several people wanted to know why Lane 7 (the “Cortes courtesy lane” which used to be loaded first at Campbell River) had been abolished.
BCF staff explained that the more rapid emptying of the Campbell River lot with the new 2-ferry service made it harder to preserve Lane 7, and also that the “gallery” lane on the Island class vessels can only accommodate “underheight” vehicles, which means vehicles are loaded based on their size as well as their place in line. The gallery lane must then be unloaded first. Residents insisted that the three regular deck lanes at least could be unloaded in the same order as they were loaded; it must be possible in some way to preserve the “first on, first off” system that ensures fairness when trying to catch a connecting ferry. A suggestion was made that BCF terminal workers should check the timestamps on travellers’ tickets to load cars in the correct order. BCF staff said they would work on it.
There were, in addition, requests for more webcams or cams with longer views, so people could assess the lineup better before leaving home; for some kind of shade or sun shelter at the Campbell River lineup; for more staff “on the ground” at the terminals; and for more aggressive signage about the use of parking brakes on board. Cortes Regional Director Mark Vonesch re-emphasised the Lane 7 issue, requesting “some kind of priority” for Cortes vehicles and invoking the risk to elderly travellers of a long wait in extreme temperatures. A Quadra resident echoed this request for more secure Cortes connectivity, saying that when Cortes travellers get desperate to catch a connecting ferry they drive too fast across Quadra, posing a hazard to locals.
Mr Vonesch also mentioned FOCI’s “room for rider” programme, which offers decals or dangles that Cortes residents can display to indicate they are willing to give a foot passenger a ride across Quadra.
A brief wave of enthusiasm greeted one query from a food truck owner about whether BCF would allow a food truck at the Whaletown Terminal. Users of this terminal also asked about the provision of more parking, and whether a reservation system might be an improvement over the “two car shuffle” and lining up the night before. Local resident John Sprungman noted that this involves an extra complete round trip to the terminal, which conflicts with a general goal of carbon reduction.
Brian Anderson, responding to multiple complaints about understaffing and cancellations, said that BCF was aware it had a staffing crisis and was revisiting many of its policies in an attempt to improve the situation. Shortage of affordable housing, as usual, was a contributing factor. He asked whether anyone on Cortes had rental accommodations that could be used to house BCF staff, and invited people to contact Tamara Olson ([email protected]) if they can offer accommodation.
While several residents frankly expressed their frustration with disruptions in service and multiple overloads during summer months, the meeting remained civil and no threats were made. BCF’s caution in exposing their staff to an angry public may, in this case, have been excessive.
[Feature Image: MV Tachek, BC Ferries Vessels Index]