Strong opinions abound when it comes to Snug Cove and the more than 120 islanders who attended the village design and ferry marshalling open houses didn't hold back. On Thursday and Saturday, they came to look at the drawings, ask questions and hear what James Tuer, the consultant who worked with the municipality to create the concepts, had to say.
Tuer presented four schemes and 16 modules, 12 of them interchangeable. Residents are asked to rank their preferences on feedback forms. The results will inform the future of Snug Cove.
Tuer said, "Scheme A basically preserves the Government Road corridor. The options are pretty limited if you try to deal with ferry marshalling and squeeze in a touristic style village that also caters to locals. In all of our schemes, we looked at four-lane ferry marshalling - two lanes on and two lanes off - but there is also the option of alternating lanes and the public can weigh in on that. The other flavour is to relocate the on-street parking to somewhere else. And we identified a sort of a terminal building and a walkway through the south side."
The walkway concept found wide appreciation. Paul Lieske said, "Finally someone has drawn it so we can envision it. It's been my dream to see a pedestrian-type village that would draw people into the cove and give people on Bowen the opportunity to see each other more often. And it would utilize a level area that doesn't inhibit the elderly or young children."
Not all the options would be a drain on municipal coffers. Tuer said, "There are many ways to implement ideas. One is through policy. The idea of infilling behind those buildings [along Government Road] would only be a policy. We would ask landowners to build and they would become partners with the municipality. That's one way. BC Ferries could also be a partner in some of the ideas."
Tuer said, "Scheme B is looking at some north side buildings while ducking around a few obstacles that are non-negotiable, like the heron rookery, the steeps slopes and some of the big trees around the old gas station."
Buildings on the north side of Government Road would provide a certain balance. Sally Freeman said, "One of the problems of the cove is symmetry. We all have a feeling for the aesthetics of a place. But when you're standing in the cove, you're feeling lopsided. Putting something on the other side, like in Schemes B and C, imposes some balance. I have the same problem with seaside villages where there are buildings on one side and the ocean on the other. People walk up and down but they don't gather. If I go to spaces that have symmetry, I have to get out of the car. In the cove, people get out of their cars because they love each other, not because they love the space. If we create a space they love, the community would really come together."
Tuer said, "Scheme C is easy to envision. It basically brings back the loop road idea but it goes around the heron rookery buffer. It frees up Government Road for other things and you have a designated ferry marshalling compound."
Doug Elliott used to be on the ferry committee. He said, "The loop road idea has gone through many modifications. I always thought it was a simplest solution to take the traffic off Government Road. The main problem here is that some people don't like the idea of encroaching on park land. But there is not going to be a perfect solution. We are going to have to give something up to gain something. [Scheme C] seems the least intrusive option for the village. The ferry line-up would be out of sight and on a flat area in walking distance to coffee shops. One of the problems with the ferry line-up we had in the past is that uneducated people would jump the queue. With a dedicated ferry marshalling area it would be simple; there would be no need to know the etiquette."
But Peter Williams cautioned, "I'm all for making the cove a more interesting place to arrive in and I like the idea of having more access to the shops and more walking areas. But I also think that we have to preserve the integrity of Crippen Park. I don't mind taking off a few feet along the road but the loop road is problematic."
Tuer said, "Scheme D looks at putting ferry marshalling more or less on Rondy Dike's parking lot and then surrounding it with buildings either on top or on the side. That would have to be a public/private partnership, a very complex sort of set-up. One of the advantages is that it puts the ferry marshalling on the right side of the street so it's not crossing the pedestrian traffic coming off the ferry."
Elliott also expressed an opinion on this scheme, "I have an issue with concentrating everything in one spot, in that area in front of the ferry. I was also perplexed by the scope, the costs and shape of this. Another big red flag is the shortage or reduction of parking in the cove. The population of Bowen could double in the next 40 or 50 years - why would we consider less parking? You need parking to be plentiful and convenient. People with children or seniors need parking in close proximity to amenities."
Ferry marshalling was an issue that dominated the discussion. Anne Chollat said, "My concern is that nobody mentioned those big trucks that are 60 feet long. When they have to turn, they will slow down the traffic and there is more and more of them. Right now, the ferry is unloaded on a straight stretch of road. It takes one and a half to two minutes. The moment those big trucks have to turn, you are stopping the traffic."
Paul Lieske had another concern, "The ferry line-up has to be somewhere where people can get out of their cars and wander into the village. Right now, elderly people sit in their cars, 40 minutes ahead of time. In the winter, they can't idle their cars. They have to freeze up on that hill with nowhere to go."
Launette Rieb found the renderings attractive. She said, "They all look better than what we have. But my first question would be, 'what's the municipal cost for the four options?' If I want to renovate my house, I would consider the cost and then I would know what is doable and what we need to give up in order to make this happen."
Wolfgan Duntz echoed that thought, "Ultimately, these plans add four options to the 12 options that I have already seen. They all work, they all look good. But we have to ask ourselves how much real estate can be created and how much real estate can be marketed. There is no sense to fall in love with any of the options and then realize that the money isn't there. Each plan has merit but we need to know how much it is going to cost and what is the economic benefit. And, in my opinion, the timing is off. Here we are with our beautiful plans and we can't even put $10,000 to our seniors."
There is still time to speak up about the Snug Cove concept. Feedback forms are available online at www.snugcoveconcepts.ca and at the municipality until Monday, July 4.
