Cost effective bridge compared to expensive,
unsustainable ferry.
A recent estimate of a bridge system to replace the
Gabriola ferry, by the previous minister of Transportation, Blair Lekstrom, was
$100 million. This is up from $35 million when the NDP created the Islands
Trust and incorporated into the Official Community Plan in 1974. Since that
time millions have been spent on ferry fares by Gabriola residents and their
service providers. We are left with a ferry, that will have to be replaced and
future fuel, labour, and terminal expenses that are unsustainable.
At the present time $6 million is spent annually for the
Gabriola Ferry service, $5 million by the user group, and the balance by the
Provincial taxpayers. This money could pay off the cost of the bridge system in
about 20 years leaving a very inexpensive transportation system that could be
supported by tolls. There would be a need for a passenger only service to
downtown Nanaimo and a bus service that would use the bridge.
Why are we being forced to accept an expensive,
unsustainable ferry option, compared to a far more effective bridge system?
The Province has just let the contract for a Public
Engagement Process, to canvass coastal communities for their opinions on the
future of the Ferry system. The Southern Gulf Islands, largely Saltspring
Island, have an annual subsidy of $26 million and this does not include the
collected fares by the user groups. In the case of Saltspring Island we are
talking about $1 billion going down the drain every 20 years! Not sustainable
in a competitive world.
Individuals that want to keep the ferries should pay the
largest proportion, those that would prefer an inexpensive bridge system,
should pay a lot less.
