An engagement meeting was hosted by BC Ferries' new community relations team for the west coast at Mansons Hall on Saturday.

The meeting was the first of its kind locally: several updates were offered on routes and sailings on printed boards displayed around the main hall, but the main purpose of the meeting was for BC Ferry representatives to hear from Cortes Island residents about their concerns.

The recent issue of lane 7 being eliminated from the Campbell River-Quadra Island route, which connects Cortes commuters to their final destination via Quadra-Cortes ferry was raised by locals on the online BC Ferries community page, on Post-It notes at the drop-in and in verbal comments from the attendees. BC Ferries representatives were receptive to the feedback, but no resolutions were provided at the meeting.

One local in attendance, Leona Jensen, who has been using the ferry service since the 1970s, brought her concerns around environmental impact to the meeting. She is optimistic about the updates and the positive reception from the representatives. 

“Hopefully, we'll get a hybrid ferry. That would be a good thing because my main concern is carbon dioxide use and how to limit that.”

The updates shared at the meeting included plans to renovate both ferry terminals: Heriot Bay and Whaletown. This would also include replacing the current ferry in operation. BC Ferries is planning to add another sailing to the Cortes-Quadra route for the summer time and will be testing that extra sailing later in February.

In addition to the local updates, there is also a BC Ferries Mobile App in development, slated for debut later this spring. 

To hear more about the community drop-in meeting, listen to the CKTZ News Update below: