Proposed Route 20 Community Option Ferry Schedule

Please click on image to view.  

 

This option will be presented to the Thetis Island community within the next several days.

Dates and times to be posted.

Arthur Hunter

FAC

BC Ferries Op Ed By Islands Trust Chair Sheila Malcolmson

Click here to read Islands Trust Council Chair Sheila Malcolmson's Op Ed "Without marine transportation, we're all sunk.  With coastal ferries, we're all in the same boat." published in the Vancouver Sun February 21, 2014.

Keith

Quarterly Pickup

If anyone is going to be going down to Sidney or that area on the 27th or 28th of February (next week), and would have time to stop by Island Blueprint in Sidney to pick up the next issue of the Quarterly, we'd be very grateful! 

Please call me (250 246 1509) or email veronica@thetisisland.net if you can help. 

Thanks!

Two Requests from Gwen Hunter

H, I have two requests of the good people of Thetis.

One: I have a grandson and his buddy who are looking for a non working laptop. They are into repairing that kind of thing.

Two: I am looking for someone who has a superior sewing machine. One that is capable of making 2" buttonholes. My sewing machine will only make holes for 1" buttons.

If you can help with either please call me.

Thank you in advance. Gwen Hunter

250-246-4209

Camera Club ~ February 24th

Please note that this month's camera club meeting will be held at the Fire Hall ~ NOT Forbes Hall ~ in order to try the Departments projector; thank you Fire Department!

Monday February 24th 7pm - see you there

Carol Sowerby

Native Plant Gardening

Join Pat Johnston for a presentation on Native Plant Gardening at 1:30 on Sunday, February 23 at Forbes Hall.  Pat will talk about the benefits of using native plants on our properties, show photographs of native plants, and discuss how to garden with native plants as well as show photographs of native plant gardens.  Pat likes to work informally so besides looking at pictures of native plants come prepared to ask questions and discuss the joys of gardening with native plants.

Pat is a Native Plant Gardening Consultant who for the past fourteen years has been helping private and public gardeners incorporate native plants into their landscapes.  She has also partnered with Victoria Capital Regional District’s Water Department, Swan Lake Nature Sanctuary and other community organizations to facilitate over 200 Native Plant Gardening Workshops.  Pat, along with other gardeners, developed a native plant demonstration garden in her own yard and works in various native plant gardens in the Victoria region.  Pat’s passion about our native flora inspires others to want to use them in our gardens. 

This workshop is free. Everyone welcome.

Sponsored by the Thetis Island Nature Conservancy.

Ferry Meeting Report

The community turnout was very good, considering the short notice given.

Again, we apologize for the short notice however we are planning other meetings very soon.

Thank you Bill Dickie for your initial outline of Options 1 and 2. 

Draft Proposal: "Option 3" (Informal)

Very special thanks to Arthur, Dave Knowles for their presentations

Arthur Hunter did a tremendous job, hats off to you Arthur, presenting and fielding questions.

Great work on Arthur and Dave's part in presenting an outline and presentation for the newly created Option 3.

It was obvious that a great deal of time, energy work and commitment went into this newly created proposal.

Although this was an informal information meeting only, the support for the Draft Proposal Option 3 Ferry Schedule appeared to be unanimous. 

The next steps will be getting Draft Proposal Option 3 out to the residents and other property owners as soon as possible. There will be notices sent out VIA ESPOKES as well as a system to respond to this Option on line.

We are also hoping for a Phone Survey for those who do not have E-Mail/Computer access.

It is our hope to be able to present this "home grown" Option 3 to BC Ferries and the Government in a timely manner. Hopefully, we will have the community support needed to move it forward.

Please make every effort to respond to notices regarding; OPTION 3 Ferry Schedule as soon as you are able.

Thank you for your support!

Steve Frankel, FAC

Note: If you require further information, or have questions, please feel free to contact either Arthur Hunter or Steve Frankel

Ferry Schedule Options

It has been brought to the attention of the FAC, that there may be some confusion on what options are currently available for endorsement as a local resident. There are 3 options.

 

A link to the options; 

 

http://www.bcferries.com/about/publicconsultation2/2014_service_Level_adjustments/schedule_options_rt20.html

 

1. The Province's: Eliminates the late Fri eve sailing, and the 6:20pm/6:50 Chem-Thetis dedicated sailing.

It begs to be said, that on the BC Ferries survey, they refer to the 6:50pm ferry sailing as the 6:35pm.

 

2. Option 1: Removes the 6:20pm/6:50pm Chem-Thetis dedicated sailing, and spreads out the 7:25 and 8:15 sailings to fill the gap. It also advances the last sailing, to make the last sailing from Chemainus 9:35pm.

 

3. Option 2: has many more changes, and really needs to be viewed. There is a copy on the BC Ferries site. Essentially, it eliminates the6:20pm/6:50 Chem-Thetis dedicated sailing, and has the last Chemainus departure at 9:40pm.

There are the same number of crossings with both options 1 and 2.

 

There is also another option available. We are calling it the 'Route 20 Community Option.'

 

There was some information and clarification in the past, that there was not an opportunity for further discussion and community/FAC proposed schedule plan. I am now officially confirming that there is a 4th option. We have confirmation with the BC Ferries representatives, that if we can rally community support for a viable schedule, they will review it and the meeting of 03 Mar 14, will shed more light on where it will go from there.

 

Later on Fri 21 Feb 14, I will toss out another espokes with the 'Route 20 Community Option' schedule. We will attempt to have it available in many formats. Along with the schedule, will be a narrative to support the changes and guide your introduction, and a fact sheet, comparing the current schedule, options 1&2, and of course, Route 20 Community Option.

 

We have the support in principal from Penelakut Band, and are awaiting their official Council vote. They just had Council elections on the 19th, so they're a little busy, however they are aware of the time restrictions.

 

The plan so far is to submit the  Route 20 Community Option to BC Ferries, no later than the morning of Wed, 26 Feb 14 . That will give the BCF think tank 3 full working days to complete their initial viability assessment.

 

To achieve the Wed deadline, we need to rally the support of the community. The FAC will conduct an official presentation of the Route 20 Community Option schedule, Monday 24 Feb and/or Tuesday 25 Feb. Exact timings etc to follow.

 

In the mean time, I would encourage Thetis Islanders to complete the BC Ferries on-line survey, and give them your opinions and make your choice. The outcome of our proposed schedule will likely not be affected by the surveys being conducted by the BC Ferries.

 

If you have seen the schedule and would like to endorse it right away, the Thetis FAC have created a dedicated email to accept your approval and thoughts. The email is;

 

r20commopt@gmail.com

 

I am available for questions; hunter@imembers.ca

 

Sincerely,

 

Art Hunter

FAC Chemainus-Thetis-Penelakut

hunter@imembers.ca

250-533-9327 

 

A Little Bit About our New Islander, Peggy Thompson

Most seem to know that our sister, Peggy, has bought Sandy Alexandre's property. Who is she besides Ann & Kathleen's older sister & multiple Genie Award winner? Here's a little article to introduce her to you.

http://www.kerrisdalevillagenews.com/ubc-prof-always-been-crazy-for-celluloid/

Ann Dickie

Ferry Schedule Information Session

Ferry Information Session:  Schedule Options 1 and 2

Date: Thursday, February  20th, 2014

Time: 4-5PM

Maximum 1 Hour Session

Community Hall

 

Captain Bill Dickie has kindly offered to give an information session regarding the history and background for the Options 1 and 2 Sailing Schedules.

 

To reiterate: This is an Informational Session only, to help clarify some misconceptions regarding these two options and how, these Options were put forth.

This session will be for information only and to assist with educating our community with Options 1 and 2 .

Hopefully, this brief session will clear-up some confusion related to the schedule sailing options.

 

Apologies for short notice

 

Steve Frankel

Some Background on the Schedule Refinements ~

I want to make it clear right at the outset that I am not writing this in any official capacity, but just as a very interested resident, property owner, and ferry customer.

My understanding of the process at this point (subject to correction if needed) is that the Ministry’s schedule adjustments were a way of achieving their desired cost savings, but these are not the only way that the changes could be implemented.

If one refers to the Ministry’s original document, distributed at the consultation meeting on Thetis, it did not mention retaining/not retaining the present last round trip sailing time and finish time. It appeared to show all of the later PM sailings moved earlier to fill the gap due to the deletion of the 1820/1850 sailing, but did not specify the time. The website appears to say that the un-numbered Ministry option would not change the timing of the last round trip.

The two other options that are “refinements" are designed to achieve the same cost savings, while making the resulting schedule meet the needs of the Route 20 customers as much as possible.

Option 1 is very simple. The PM “Thetis only” 1820/1850 sailing is eliminated, and all of the subsequent sailings are moved earlier to fill the gap, making the last round trip and the finish time earlier.

Option 2 includes exactly the same changes in the PM sailings, except for a few minutes difference in some sailing times: (1820/1850 sailing eliminated, all subsequent sailings are moved earlier to fill the gap, making the last round trip and the finish time earlier). In addition, there are changes in the order of some of the AM sailings to address traffic patterns and reduce the impact of the gaps in the schedule for both islands.

All of the changes in option 2 (except for the earlier time for the last sailing) were generated right here at Route 20, and all of them were presented to the FAC for this route at a well-attended FAC meeting on December 11^th, 2011. During that meeting, the rationale behind every proposed change was explained to the FAC members. It was also explained that not all of the changes were interdependent. The FAC could pick and choose the ones that they felt at broad support. At the end of the meeting, the members made a commitment to go back to their respective communities and discuss the possible changes, and come back to BC Ferries with their proposed schedule changes.

Unfortunately, very shortly after that meeting, the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure put a hold on any schedule discussions on any route, pending the Ministry’s review of the entire BC Ferries system.

So, here is your chance to pick one of the options, or to pick parts of the options. BC Ferries will be meeting with the FAC prior to the final schedule decisions being made. Be sure to fill out the questionnaire - including comments on any particular part that you strongly like/dislike - and also let the FAC members know what you think.

Bill Dickie

From the Survey...

On November 18, 2013, the provincial government announced plans to achieve $14 million net savings from the coastal ferry service network through sailing reductions across 16 routes serviced by BC Ferries.  This was followed by engagement sessions across the affected communities, and the government has now confirmed their final decision on the reductions.

Therefore, BC Ferries will implement these service reductions and has developed schedule options that will achieve the savings targets for each route identified by the government. The new schedules will be in effect as of April 28th, 2014. BC Ferries is seeking public opinion regarding these schedule options. 

Province Option

BC Ferries Option 1

BC Ferries Option 2