As we await the return of the Queen of Capilano, I have to say I am going to miss the little boat. And I know that am not the only one who is going to miss the Queen. Many times on the ferry I have heard people say things like this: I love how fast it is, I love how it’s almost always on time, I love how you get off on the car deck before the cars, I love that we have Peter King’s bus and a commuter parking lot.
Who are these people anyway? They are the people who make most of their trips as walk-ons; the people who have a car in Horseshoe Bay, or use Car2go or Peter King’s magical bus. They are people who use the Jack Bell ride share, the people who cycle to work or the people - like me - who walk on the 9:30 a.m. ferry, walk to the 257 Express Bus and arrive at work at 10:35 a.m.
On that note, I’ve been questioning the way people call Peter King’s bus a commuter bus, or English Bay Launch a commuter water taxi. These options are actually great for anyone wanting to get to medical appointments, shopping, or taking the kids into town. The people in their cars parked way up the hill as I walk past them with my coffee minutes before the Bowen Queen departs need to know that too.
These are the people looking forward to the return of the new, improved and BIGGER Queen of Capilano. For the past few months they’ve been leaving their homes and families an hour early and only to miss yet another boat. On a Friday, they don’t make it home for dinner thanks to multiple overloads in Horseshoe Bay. I’ve been there, too. One night, arriving in Horseshoe Bay in time for the 8:30 p.m. ferry, I feared I wouldn’t make it home at all. Fortunately, BC Ferries added on one extra sailing to bring me and the other Bowen Islanders back to Snug Cove by 11 p.m.
Still, I’ll miss that little boat.
Urban planners often say if you build more roads, more people drive their cars so more roads do not mean less congestion. I wonder, then, could more vehicle deck space mean more cars, more loading time, more late ferries, and just as many overloads?
Or maybe a midlife upgrade is like a midlife crisis - a time to rethink. Maybe it’s time to rethink how we move people on and off the island.
