Salt Spring Island Community Page

We've gathered a list of what we’ve heard as priorities from your Ferry Advisory Committee and community over the past two years. Now we need your help to:

• Review the list of feedback we’ve received from your community
• Prioritize the feedback we can action

Your feedback will be used by the Community Prioritization Panel (CPP) - a panel comprised of Ferry Advisory Committee Chairs from across the coast - to create a prioritized list of recommendations for the whole BC Ferries system.

This survey covers the same information as the interactive community workshop happening on Saturday, July 20.

The survey will be open until Sunday, July 28, 2024. Check back on this page for updates on the process and what we heard from your community.

On Saturday July 20, we hosted the Salt Spring Island Community Workshop to gather feedback on the priorities for our ferry services. Participants included members from the Ferry Advisory Committee and the broader community. The discussion was lively and informative, and several key priorities emerged as areas of focus.

Read the verbatim comments from the evening here.

The highest-ranking priorities were:

• Methods to reduce congestion at Crofton and Vesuvius terminals
• Thru fare upgrades
• Prioritize passengers who have medical appointments

Methods to reduce congestion at Crofton and Vesuvius terminals

Participants emphasized the need to reduce congestion on route 6 (Crofton – Vesuvius). Suggestions included adjusting the schedule by moving up the current 7:50 pm sailing by 30 minutes and changing the Dangerous Goods sailing to mornings to avoid cascading traffic back up in the busier evening sailings.

Thru fare upgrades

Several comments were made about the need for upgrades to the current thru fare process. Comments included providing a dedicated thru fare lane from Fulford to Tsawwassen within the terminal, priority booking, and the option to access super saver rates on thru fare travel.

Prioritize passengers who have medical appointments

Feedback on difficulties accessing medical appointments was heard from attendees. Three votes were cast in favour of those travelling for medical appointments to receive priority boarding for their desired ferry time.

Understanding Priorities

Lastly, we also asked participants what makes an item a priority for them. Attendees shared that they would like to see BC Ferries focus on reducing congestion and improving overall services. Specifically, shifting from prioritizing vehicle travel to alternative modes and enhance collaboration with other transportation partners.

Thank you!

We would like to thank everyone who came out to our in person workshop, and the members of the Ferry Advisory Committee who joined us. If you were not able to make it, there is still an opportunity to provide your feedback through the online engagement open until July 28^th.

Join us! For an Interactive Community Workshop
Saturday, July 20, 2024
12:30 - 2:00 pm
Salt Spring Island

Please note that space is limited. RSVP to reserve your spot and receive full event details.

Agenda

• Introduction & presentation: 20 minutes
• Reviewing the feedback we’ve heard from you (interactive stations): 35 minutes
• Prioritizing the feedback we’ve heard from you (interactive stations): 30 minutes
• Wrap-up & close: 5 minutes

Session Format

This community workshop will begin with a short presentation, followed by two interactive sessions that ask participants to help us:

1. Ensure the feedback we have captured from the Ferry Advisory Committee and community is complete and accurate
2. Prioritize the feedback we’ve captured based on what is most important to the community

Participants will also walk away with a better understanding of:

• How BC Ferries makes decisions
• The aspects of ferry service that are rising to the top as most important for their community
• The next steps for considering and taking action on the feedback provided
• How to stay involved and connected in the next steps

To get the most from the session, participants are encouraged to stay for the entire workshop, but are most welcome to drop in and stay as long as they wish. We understand life is busy and time is precious.

There will an online engagement component hosted on this page that mirrors the workshop input, for those who are not able to attend.

To stay connected, please click the ‘Stay Informed’ icon at the right hand side of the page, or continue to check this page.

We look forward to meeting you.

This spring and summer we’re getting back out with our Ferry Advisory Committees and the communities we serve. With a focus on resetting conversations, we’ll be looking at what we’ve heard from FACs and communities over the past two years. We’ll work together to:

• Review the list of feedback we’ve received from each community
• Prioritize the feedback we can action
• Establish criteria that will help a new Community Prioritization Panel make recommendations about what’s most important across the ferry system

This work will result in a prioritized list of action items for each community. From there, a Community Prioritization Panel (CPP) will work to consolidate these items into a prioritized list for the whole BC Ferries system.

All FAC chairs have been invited to participate in the CPP and the panel will deliver a final public report by October 31, 2024. This report will help guide how BC Ferries reviews and makes decisions on changes needed to improve service and experience for customers, and also help inform long-term decisions that align with the ongoing Charting the Course vision process.

Timelines

• May: Virtual meetings with all Ferry Advisory Committees
• June/July: In-person community workshops

Dates and details for community workshops will be posted to this page shortly.

New Safety and Security Measures

In order to create a safe and respectful environment for all, BC Ferries has implemented changes based on recommendations made in its safety review, including:

• Establishing safety and security policies for public events that align with WorkSafe BC requirements.
• Rolling out a new mandatory respectful workplace policy and training across the company, including training in Prevention of Violence in the Workplace for all BC Ferries representatives who will take part in community events.
• Establishing plans and templates to support safety and security assessments in advance of FAC and community meetings.
• Establishing new processes for public events, including the request for participants to RSVP ahead of time, new sign-in requirements, and a new Code of Conduct that will apply to all public events. We’ll provide more information on what you can expect to see at events in an upcoming post to this page.
• Updating the Terms of Reference and Code of Conduct to ensure the correct foundations are in place to support a mutually respectful and productive relationship with FACs.

Stay Informed

We’ll be providing updates to this page in the coming weeks, click the ‘Stay Informed’ icon on the right hand side of the page to receive updates to your email inbox.

We look forward to seeing you soon!

The BC Ferries Community Relations Team

As an essential public service, it is our job to keep people moving safely and reliably. We review our capital plan regularly to ensure it’s helping us achieve those goals. Inevitably, that means some tough decisions as we must work within our budget.

During this year’s annual review, we prioritized two main aspects of our capital investment plan:

1. The work required to ensure the maintenance and continued reliability of our infrastructure
2. The delivery of vessels to replace our aging fleet and meet the growing capacity demands of the communities we serve, and the replacement of berths required to support new vessel introductions.

As a result, we have had to defer or adjust the scope of some of our previously planned projects to work within available funds. For more on project impacts for Salt Spring Island, please read on.

Although some adjustments have been made, our plans continue to include $356 million in capital investments this year, and approximately $2.2 billion over the next four years (Performance Term Six). We also plan to pursue additional funding opportunities that would allow us to re-evaluate capital expenditures before the end of the next performance term (March 31, 2028). We will keep you updated as we continue to re-evaluate.

What does this mean for Fulford terminal?

As we note above, we have prioritized the work required to ensure the maintenance and continued reliability of our infrastructure for Salt Spring Island travellers.

Fulford terminal project planning has been deferred, but work continues on providing increased capacity for Salt Spring Island travellers with:

• Additional peak season capacity between Fulford Harbour and Swartz Bay
• Berth infrastructure upgrades to support the introduction of two new Island Class vessels on Route 6 in 2027, which will bring increased capacity and frequency for Salt Spring Island travellers.

This increase in capacity and frequency also means moving vehicles through the terminals and off the road ways more efficiently. We will also continue to stay connected with Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure, Islands Trust, and BC Transit to work on operational improvements for vehicle staging, traffic control and intermodal connections.

What does this mean for Crofton and Vesuvius Terminals?

Crofton and Vesuvius terminal projects will focus on the berth replacements in their original location to ensure the continued reliability of our infrastructure and to prepare the terminals for the introduction of two new Island Class vessels in 2027.

Understanding the effects of peak season traffic on our neighbours, we will continue to utilize all traffic control measures to minimize impacts. The increase in capacity and frequency offered by the Island Class vessels will also mean being able to move vehicles through the terminal and off the roadways more efficiently. In addition, we continue to look for all opportunities to effectively manage vehicle capacity at the terminals. This includes increasing vehicle space at Vesuvius terminal with the berth replacement project, by providing widened lanes on the trestle, to help move more vehicles off the roadway.

We will also continue to stay connected with Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure, Municipality of North Cowichan, and BC Transit to work on operational improvements for vehicle staging, traffic control and intermodal connections.

Thank you for your understanding as we work to balance the work required to ensure the maintenance and continued reliability of our infrastructure.

Crofton and Vesuvius Ferry Terminals - Timber Trestle Repair Work Next Phases

The initial work to extend the life of the timber trestles at the Crofton and Vesuvius terminals is now complete and the next phase of day-time work is scheduled to start Friday, November 10, 2023.

Work will be completed on the timber deck boards and is expected to increase normal noise levels around the terminals between sailings on the following days:

• Crofton and Vesuvius Terminal: Friday, November 10, 2023
• Vesuvius Terminal: Tuesday, November 14 – Friday, November 17, 2023

No operational impacts are expected during this work and all efforts will be made to minimize the noise for our neighbours.

Final project phase

The project's final phase is expected to take place at the end of November. To minimize the impact on operations, work is scheduled to take place overnight and will include paving at both Crofton and Vesuvius terminals. General construction noise is expected during this time. Once the dates are confirmed, a service notice will be issued.

BC Ferries would like to thank our customers and neighbours for their patience and understanding as we complete this necessary work.

For more information or traffic updates, please follow @BCFerries on Twitter or visit bcferries.com.

Now is the time to shape the vision of the coastal ferry service in BC.

Transportation, transit and ferry systems around the world are under pressure resulting from the pandemic, population growth, climate change, inflation and other factors. BC’s coastal ferry system is no exception, and BC Ferries is responding with actions to address current operational issues. We are also embarking on a long-term transformative journey to reshape our coastal ferry services in response to the evolving needs of the communities we serve.

We invite you to participate in Charting the Course, an initiative that aims to define what is needed to keep people, goods, and services in coastal communities connected and moving through to 2050 and beyond.

Hearing from you is an important part of this initiative to help us build a more sustainable and resilient ferry system. The first phase of engagement is open until November 28. Learn more and participate here: https://www.bcferriesprojects.ca/bc-ferries-charting-the-course

Extended Peak Season Service
Fulford Harbour (Salt Spring Island) – Swartz Bay (Victoria)
August 25 – September 30, 2023

As part of our ongoing commitment to enhanced service on our Swartz Bay (Victoria) – Fulford Harbour (Salt Spring Island) route, BC Ferries is pleased to announce an extension of our Peak Season schedule until Saturday, September 30.

The schedule will provide 10 daily round trips throughout the month of September, maintaining extra sailings to help meet demand on this busy route, and synchronizing with BC Transit bus services to and from Fulford Harbour.

*excluding Sundays

Schedules are available at bcferries.com/routes-fares/schedules.