The future of Snug Cove and the conceptual redesigning of the village has to date put ferry marshaling and transportation at the top of the list of priorities. Widening the road to accommodate a double lane loading and unloading system has been deemed paramount to future designs of the cove. Deborah Marshall, BC Ferries director of media relations, states, "BC Ferries has been working with Bowen for over 15 years on various concepts that have arisen to improve the traffic marshalling system in Snug Cove. We have provided guiding principles for ferry terminal design including reduction of cross-traffic, loading and unloading patterns, and the separation of foot passengers from vehicular traffic for safety reasons. Ultimately, the choice on land development, roadway networks and ferry marshaling is for the community to make."
Currently Bowen has a one lane loading system and a two lane disembarkation. BC Ferries has recommended a double lane approachfor loading and unloading, which , according to Marshall, would provide a host of benefits including reducing engineidling and quicker vessel turn-around times (our current on-time performance, for the 2011 fiscal year was at 85 per cent).
It has also been suggested that these future modifications would be a requirement for a larger vessel. James Tuer, president of JWT Architecture and Planning has stated, "two lanes of loading on and off the ferry is the only stipulation BC Ferries has asked for to accommodate a larger ferry".
The fact of the matter is Bowen Island is not slated to get a larger ferry any time soon. Approximately a decade ago, BC Ferries planned to build an intermediate size vessel (a little larger than the Queen of Capilano), planning to deploy it on the Bowen Island run. BC Ferries had discussions with the Bowen Island Municipality Ferry Advisory Committee about designs of a ship but concerns were raised regarding the accumulative effects of load times due to a lack of a two laneloading road."With a larger vessel obviously comes more traffic to load and unload. Without double lane loading at Snug Cove, the advantage of a larger ship is diminished because the ship would need increased time at Snug Cove. When you factor in the increased time, 16 times per day, the schedule would have to be changed, dropping a round trip. Because of the single lane loading at Snug Cove, the decision was made not to deploy a larger ship to the Bowen Island route." says Marshall. Interestingly enough, this will all get tested during the 2014/15 refit of the Queen of Capilano from marine diesel to LNG (Liquified Natural Gas). The Island Sky, a larger vessel with a capacity of 120 vehicles(compared to our current capacity of 85), is intended to replace the Queen of Capilano during her six months mid-life upgrade.
The lack of a double lane isn't the only deciding factor in Bowen not receiving a larger ferry, according to Marshall who explained that a decline in vehicle traffic also plays into this decision. During peak sailing times, holiday weekends and summer vacations, the Queen of Capilano runs at full capacity, says Marshall and often these popular sailings are overloaded. However, yearly statistical analysis conducted by BC Ferries shows the demand for a larger vessel isn't there. For the fiscal year ending March 31, 2004, BC Ferries carried 533,394 vehicles on the Bowen Island- Horseshoe Bayroute.This works out to be a 56 per cent capacity utilization, a yearly average of the number of cars that load onto the ferry. In comparison, to the fiscal year ending March 31, 2011, BC Ferries carried 498,544 vehicles on the route, which works out to be 52.9 per cent capacity utilization and a notable decline.
This decline in traffic has been noted across BC Ferries' entire fleet. "In the third quarter of fiscal 2012, we [at BC Ferries as a whole]experienced a decline of 3.6 per cent in vehicle traffic and three per cent in passenger traffic as compared to the same periods in the prior year. The traffic this fiscal year is the lowest vehicle traffic we've experienced in 11 years and the lowest passenger traffic we've experienced in 20 years," says Marshall. She attributes the decline to many variables such as increased fares, less discretionary income due to the economy and changing demographics, for instance retirees who are not commuting regularly. Another factor is that the population on Bowen Island has only increased by 1.2 per cent over the last five years. According to Stats Canada, in 2006 the population of Bowen was recorded at 3,362; in 2011 the numbers come in at 3,402.
As it stands now, creating a two lane road will streamline loading and save idling. A bigger ferry is not on the horizon and the peak hour and peak season overloading will still be a problem. Adam Holbrook who is the chair of the Bowen Island Municipal Ferry Advisor Committee, believes that we should be focusing on foot passengers instead of vehicles,"Some people don't have a choice, they need a car - others do have a choice and they walk on. If public transit was better, it would be cheaper for people to walk on leaving more space on the boat for cars during peak times. Current bus schedules are linked to the Nanaimo and Langdale arrivals, yet [those communities] do not pay taxes to TransLink as we do!"
