BC Ferries says its latest public engagement on Sunshine Coast service drew nearly 1,500 online responses and more than 80 applications to join the “Moving Ahead Together on the Sunshine Coast” working group.
In an Oct. 7 update, BC Ferries said the company, in collaboration with the chairs of the ferry advisory committees from both ends of the Sunshine Coast as well as Gambier-Keats, have now selected 19 people “that represent a cross-section of the community, ferry users and BC Ferries employees.”
According to the release, the working group members include full-time residents, vacation home owners, medical travellers, business owners, commuters, people representing local schools, regional economic development organizations, commercial trucking companies, the Sunshine Coast tourism industry and islanders.
Local First Nations also have been invited to participate in the project, BC Ferries said.
The working group met during the week of Oct. 5 to begin reviewing some of the community feedback, which the company said highlighted issues like travel certainty for residents, medical travel, capacity utilization and operational improvements.
“The community also expressed interest in learning more about reservation allocations for the Sunshine Coast, traffic data trends and the process for medical assured travel,” the release said.
The working group is scheduled to meet again in mid-October to develop a short-list of potential near-term improvements to local ferry service.
The short-list will then be presented to the community in early November.
BC Ferries said it will provide updates on the project at: bcferriesprojects.ca/aheadtogether.
– Coast Reporter
