Gray Creek’s Tom Lymbery lobbying to move Balfour Ferry Terminal north to Queens Bay

— Photo courtesy Wikipedia

I received a message from Tom Lymbery at Gray Creek last week, he is urging people to lobby for and encourage the BC government to consider moving the west side terminus of the Kootenay Lake Ferry to Queens Bay (just north of Balfour) which would allow hourly ferry service across the shorter and more direct route from Kootenay Bay to Queen's Bay.

Here's what Tom wrote, “We need to push for the change of the ferry terminal to Queens Bay which could give us hourly service – this would put people across the lake 40 minutes closer to the hospital – plus many other improvements. This may be 5 years away but its very important. The dock could be built in the middle of Queens Bay, where Hwy 31 is climbing somewhat and there are no houses or private property to purchase. It would need a lot of fill but that's cheaper than buying land and disturbing residents.”

He adds, "Every winter when both the Rogers and the Kootenay Passes are closed all the Trans Canada traffic has to take the Kootenay Lake route and a shorter trip with an hourly service would much improve that congestion."

Transportation Minister Todd Stone is calling for public input to help guide a new 10-year provincial transportation plan he aims to unveil by the end of January. Deadline to submit comment is December 12, 2014.

The public consultations for the plan – dubbed "B.C. On the Move" – include meetings across the province with communities and stakeholders, a Twitter town hall and a dedicated website.

The inland ferry system has 14 routes, crossing Kootenay Lake, Kootenay River,Upper and Lower Arrow Lake, Francois Lake, the Fraser River (at Lytton, Big Bar and Barnston Isand), the North Thompson River (at McLure and Little Fort), and the Skeena and Columbia rivers and Adams Lake in the Shuswap. In 2013/14, inland ferries – managed by the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure – carried more than 2.2 million passengers and 1.3 million vehicles

See the report and discussion guide here.