Tom Matzen says he’s been pitching the idea of using two lanes in the Lower Cove to just about everyone since he first heard the idea, and this week, he pitched it to council. He described the idea as simple to implement, cost effective, perfect timing, and a “no-brainer.”
The idea involves eliminating the parking spots along the side of Bowen Island Trunk Road during the morning rush-hour periods (Monday to Friday) and using both lanes as the ferry line-up. Matzen says this method of ferry loading would speed-up the process of loading cars onto the ferry, be of economic benefit to the businesses in the Lower Cove, and most importantly, make the ferry line-up safer during the periods of morning overloads to ensure that the line-up does not stretch beyond the school. Also, the ferry line-up would start above the cenotaph, making the unloading process more straightforward and making the pedestrian crosswalk safer.
“During my family’s first winter here, the Bowen Queen temporarily replaced the Queen of Capilano,” says Matzen. “Because of the time it took to load, combined with breakdowns, there were four-hour waits to get on the ferry. If I had an 11 a.m. meeting in the city, I’d line up for the ferry at 7:30, and of course I wasn’t the only one who thought this way so the ferry line-ups were very, very long.”
Matzen says that if the two inside lanes of Bowen Island Trunk Road are used as ferry line-ups, people will know whether or not they’ll make it on the ferry because the end of the line will be at the pharmacy.
He also says that in conversations with Piers Hayes at the Snug Café, and Gino Rutigliano at Bowen Island Coffee, he has received strong support for this plan on the basis that the proximity of the cars will improve business.
In response to the plan, councilors brought up several concerns about the plan. The first brought up by councilor Andrew Stone was that such a plan had been tried, and abandoned, roughly eleven years ago.
Matzen responded that the reason why the two-lane loading plan didn’t work in its earlier incarnation was because the two loading lanes were the middle lanes of the road, as opposed to the two lanes on the far right, and this caused an even more dangerous situation when people attempted to exit their cars to visit go into the shops at the Cove.
Stone also added that another problem with the plan is that people have been known to leave their cars parked in the curbside lots in the Cove, and a single car left in one of these spots would turn the entire plan into chaos.
“It would be easy to place a boot-jack on the wheel of one of these illegally parked car, and the lesson of that would send a message very quickly,” replied Matzen.
After some discussion about the merits and potential problems with this plan, council decided to pass the details on to the transportation advisory committee [BIMTAC] for review.
Committee chair Adam Holbrook says that the plan will be looked at as part of a larger plan to mitigate overload problems during the four-month period this coming winter when the Queen of Capilano will be replaced by the Bowen Queen.
“We want to make the commuter experience better and more efficient for walk-on passengers so that we can avoid overloads altogether,” says Holbrook. “There are also things we need to do to eliminate congestion and confusion at the corner of Cardena Road, such as making a through way from the back library parking lot to the main lot and onto Trunk Road.”
He says that he also has specific concerns about the plan pitched by Matzen.
“For one, towing is not an option and neither is the Denver Boot. If the municipality were to start towing cars they would need a secure impound lot, and then they would need to have someone responsible for watching over the cars, it would be very complicated.”
He also says that in the previous trial of this kind of loading, problems occurred because drivers in one lane would sometimes go faster than in the other, and cars would switch lanes.
“The two lanes moved differentially, unlike in Horseshoe Bay where you have a flagger directing traffic and telling people where to go,” says Holbrook.
Gordon Ganong, a member of Bowen Islanders for Ferry Fairness (BIFF) has been spearheading the two-lane loading plan and objects to Holbrook’s concerns.
“These drivers will be the people who do this every day, and it would be very easy to educate them. The kinks would work them out very quickly. There will be problems with any plan we come up with, but we need to approach them positively and look for solutions to work them out. ”
Matzen says he is optimistic despite the concerns that have expressed.
“This is Bowen, and there is a lot of inertia not to do things, but any of the objections I’ve heard are easy to address.”
Cove Improvement History, from Tom Matzen’s proposal: Cove Loading Plan
1875 Discussions began in shortly after Captain Vancouver sailed the seas.
1890 - 1990 Each council since then, and several native tribes wanted better canoe loading .
September 2014 Our current council takes action, improves safety, and makes loading faster and safer.
