The Times Colonist has published an editorial about the Gabriola Bridge study. It begins: Thorough public consultation has the potential to save a lot of money and headaches. When the B.C. government received a petition in 2014 supporting a bridge to Gabriola Island, the Transportation Ministry agreed to a $200,000 feasibility study. “The signal we have received from Gabriola Island…
Author: Descanso Bay
Gabriola anti-bridge petition presented in BC Legislature
Yesterday (April 13th, 2015) Doug Routley and Claire Trevena presented the no bridge to Gabriola petition in the BC Legislature. Apparently there were 2,269 signatures. Gabriolans who attended the session: Chris Bowers, Jacinthe Eastick, Veronica Hartman, Howard Houle, Leaf Kotasek, Sheila Malcolmson, Heather Nicholas, Steve O’Neill, and Penny Sidor. To see what was said, you can read the Hansard draft…
Watch the petition presentation on live webcast
Yesterday we mentioned that a group of people who want Gabriola Island to remain bridge-free are to present a petition to the BC Legislature. Our friends at Bridge Free Salish Sea have posted that this is to happen on April 13th (that’s today!) in the afternoon session. They add that: A press conference will follow on the steps of the…
Anti-bridge petition to be presented
Here’s what we spotted in the current issue of the Gabriola Sounder: Members of Bridge Free Salish Sea, Trustee Heather Nicholas, and RDN Director Howard Houle will be driving to Victoria April 13 with the petition signatures of 2,026 British Columbians, 1,591 of which are from Gabriola and Mudge Islands. The petition supports the Islands Trust policy statment against bridges…
Buttons promote bridge-free Gabriola
As we go about our lives on the island, we are pleased to note that many of our fellow islanders are wearing buttons like the one shown here. Maybe those button-wearing Gabriolans share our reasons for not wanting a bridge to Gabriola, or maybe they have their own reasons. The buttons were made by the Bridge Free Salish Sea group.…
Gabriola toll bridge?
We’re all hoping for no bridge at all to Gabriola. But if we do get a bridge to our island, driving across it might not be free. Look at what’s happening in the Lower Mainland. The Golden Ears Bridge and the Port Mann Bridge now require tolls. The Pattullo Bridge is to require tolls when it is replaced. Drivers are…
Ferry vs. bridge: what about greenhouse gases?
We’ve heard the claim that a bridge to Gabriola would be better for the environment than having the ferry go back and forth multiple times each day between Gabriola and Nanaimo. Is that so? Gabriola resident Steven Earl has posted about this on the
RDN requests study regarding a bridge to Gabriola
A bridge to Gabriola? The RDN has some concerns about that. There’s bit a bit of back-and-forth on what the RDN should say to the province about the matter. Now we’ve learned that they will send a letter to Todd Stone about the bridge idea after all. They’re requesting that a socio-economic study be done, to get an idea of…
A four-lane bridge to Gabriola might look like this
As Whalebone mentioned in the Bridge Study Terms of Reference blog post, the bridge consultant is being asked to “confirm whether a 2 or 4 lane crossing would be required to meet demand in the peak period.” A four-lane bridge to Gabriola. What would that look like? Here’s one possibility. This photo is of a four-lane bridge. It’s a toll-bridge,…
Nanaimo Council worried about Gabriola bridge
We’re concerned about how a bridge would devastate Gabriola Island and Mudge Island, but we’ve also wondered where a bridge would go on the Nanaimo side of the water, and whether Nanaimo residents would want a bridge going through their parks and open spaces. The Nanaimo Daily News article indicates that there is concern about this: Gabriola bridge idea raises…