A feasibility study of a highway link from the Sunshine Coast to the Lower Mainland is now underway, but Powell River-Sunshine Coast MLA Nicholas Simons said the area has “transportation issues that need to be dealt with now.”
The $250,000 contract to undertake the study was awarded to R.F. Binnie and Associates, a Vancouver-based civil engineering firm, according to a media release from BC Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure. The firm’s final report to government is expected in late fall 2016.
Simons said the study is a good first step toward what the future could look like for transportation on the Sunshine Coast, but residents of the area need short-term solutions.
“While we are waiting for the fixed link, maybe government should restore the skipped Sunday sailing between Horseshoe Bay and Langdale, the cuts to service across [the Straight of Georgia] to Texada Island, and between Comox and Powell River,” said Simons. “The fact a study is being undertaken does not absolve this government of their responsibilities to our communities in the meantime.”
A number of options will be explored in the study, including a highway link around Jervis Inlet and bridge connections along the coast. The costs and benefits of each option will be assessed and compared to existing ferry services, according to the release.
“Connections between the Sunshine Coast and the Lower Mainland have been limited by the region’s challenging geography, which is an impediment to trade and tourism in the region,” stated transportation and infrastructure minister Todd Stone. “With this study, we’re taking a thorough look at the possibilities for a highway link to the Lower Mainland. It will build on previous work, and provide government with valuable, updated information on various options as they compare to the existing ferry service.”
Simons claimed the statement is the first time Stone has acknowledged the negative impact of ferry service cuts and increased fares.
“So that’s a start,” said Simons. “I’m hoping the study answers all our questions and gives us an idea of what could happen in the future, but in the meantime, residents of the Sunshine Coast have transportation issues that need to be dealt with now.”
The announcement was expected by Gary Fribance, president of Third Crossing Society, a Powell River non-profit organization that has proposed a highway from Powell River to Squamish to connect with the BC Interior.
“We’re happy with the study,” said Fribance, “though we’re not perfectly happy with the study, because it is focusing on transportation issues between the Lower Mainland and the Sunshine Coasts. That’s plural.”
Fribance said the society is planning to campaign the consulting firm and claimed he has already been in contact with them to lobby for a highway system linking north Vancouver Island with the rest of BC, bypassing the Lower Mainland.
“We need them to increase their focus on transportation from east to west, from Vancouver Island through the Comox ferry, then through us and on to Whistler and Kamloops and so on,” said Fribance. “We are doing numerous things to push that and are continuing our campaign with government.”
Simons said, above all else, he hopes the engineering firm is able to get an impartial study done on all transportation options for the Sunshine Coast.
“I hope the study gives citizens an objective picture,” said Simons, “of what the options are for our communities.”
