Burrard Inlet and Indian Arm were once teeming with passenger ferries, shuttling people between Port Moody, Belcarra, the North Shore, and even downtown Vancouver. In an ironic twist, the area is now only accessible to the public by car or bus. Your best hope of arriving via the water is to befriend someone with a yacht — or pay for a tour..DEEP DIVE: Could passenger ferries make a comeback on Burrard Inlet and Indian Arm?.There are numerous local companies offering sightseeing adventures and chartered water taxi services in the area, and they all agreed that the time is right for a regularly-scheduled ferry service to make a comeback..Among them is Michael Griffiths, owner and operator of Indian Arm Boat Charters. In an interview with the Western Standard, he argued that the area must start utilizing its waterways to get visitors and locals alike off the roads. He acknowledged, however, that convincing the relevant authorities would be a challenge.When asked, District of North Vancouver Mayor Mike Little and Belcarra Mayor Jamie Ross were apprehensive. While Port Moody Mayor Meghan Lahti was enthusiastic, even she noted that getting a service off the ground — and into the water — would be a massive undertaking.."They need to take this into consideration," Griffiths said, sitting in his boat at Belcarra Pier. "I know Mayor Little knows as well as I do that coming in and out of the Deep Cove area is not easy. It's also hindering expansion for growth as far as housing in this area, so if we had other options of transporting people in and out of our area, it'd be a win-win for everybody."In a statement, Little told the Western Standard that while his government is "supportive of alternatives that take vehicles off of the Second Narrows Bridge," their focus is on "a move to rapid transit that can transport thousands of people per hour." "Passenger ferries at Cates or Deep Cove to Belcarra don't have the infrastructure on either end to support large volumes of commuters," Little said. "Parking challenges in the Cove can't support a high volume service and the transit options at Cates and Belcarra are very limited. Connecting the Evergreen Line in Port Moody to our new R2 Service on the Millennium and Expo Line has a chance of moving much larger groups to employment and housing destinations on the North Shore.".Down on the dock in Deep Cove, the Western Standard spoke with Ryan, a tourist from Bellingham who was visiting with his family and considering moving to the area."It's a lot of effort for us to drive around," he said, "so if there was a ferry sitting here just to go across the bay or something, I think that would be really fun. We would certainly take something like that and we would see a lot more of Vancouver."Ryan added that he would "absolutely" consider living in Deep Cove if there was a ferry service, pointing out that it would "greatly reduce the amount of driving" he'd have to do.."Living in Vancouver is really ideal for the job that I have, but it's very strange for me to think about living in a condo downtown," he said, noting that he grew up in the sticks. "It's an ideal scenario to live somewhere like Deep Cove and be able to take a boat and take my bike with me, and then be able to work downtown, take advantage of the city, but then be able to come home to such a peaceful little place."Griffiths agreed with Ryan, pointing out that "in the Deep Cove area there have been some projects that have been squashed because of the concern of access in and out."Despite all the potential challenges, Griffiths remained steadfast in his belief that it was possible "if we can get everybody working on the same page and working together."He said he'd be interested in working with his fellow tour operators, mayors, Metro Vancouver, and indigenous groups to try and make it happen, noting that it would require new boats, better infrastructure, and numerous permits. All that costs money, which he said he'd hope to secure via private investments, grants, partnerships with the cities, and "whatever else it takes."Griffiths noted that an ideal passenger ferry would travel at around 20 knots, citing electric hydrofoils as a potential option. He pointed to Greenline Marine Inc., which is set to use such boats to shuttle people between downtown Vancouver and Bowen Island by 2027."They seem like they get from Point A to Point B at a pretty good speed," he said of the hydrofoils, "so it's gonna be interesting to see how they do first and then kinda go from there.".Griffiths' desire to see regularly-scheduled passenger ferry service return to the area was shared by Mike Bothma, senior captain for Indian Arm Recreational Services."It's not straightforward," he admitted in an interview with the Western Standard at the Reed Point Marina in Port Moody. "The more you open it up, the more complex it gets."He explained that along with the factors brought up by Griffiths, there were a slew of safety and logistical problems that would need to be solved — everything from how to deal with fires on board and on piers to ensuring the water is deep enough to allow a larger vessel to properly dock in certain places..Bothma pointed out that a portion of the area between the Deep Cove and Port Moody, particularly as you come into or out of the North Shore, is a speed-restricted zone, noting that there may be an opportunity to push that limit so long as the boat does not create a major wake. He also pointed to structural issues at Cates Park dock, suggesting that something more sturdy would have to be built to accommodate passengers of all ages and abilities.Another issue is that the docks along the proposed route between Deep Cove, Cates Park, Rocky Point Park, and Belcarra are all owned an overseen by different jurisdictions. The latter, for example, is operated by Metro Vancouver, a body Bothma said has been adamant in its refusal to allow commercial use of the public pier.."Metro Vancouver is always looking to improve regional parks access to manage park capacity and reduce the environmental impact of park visitor travel," a spokesperson told the Western Standard. "As outlined in the 2022 Alternative Transportation Study, Metro Vancouver intends to conduct a feasibility study prior to entertaining any formal proposals for a passenger ferry service."In that report, Metro Vancouver claimed that the area has "the right geography, but not the intensity and frequency of urban development along regional waterways, nor the traffic congestion" to make a public service commercially viable. The feasibility study "has not been started.""I see the need is there," Bothma argued, explaining that after leaving his home on the Sunshine Coast every morning, it takes ages to get across the North Shore and over to Port Moody, where he starts his work day."The congestion is noticeable, and getting tighter," he added, "so an alternative is to use the water we have available and get people across the shore and connecting with the SkyTrain on this side.".When asked why, unlike other aquatically-blessed cities, Vancouver opted to ditch ferries in favour of other modes of transportation, Bothma said there were "many, many reasons.""Inertia is a big one," he lamented. "When something is started and money's invested into it, it tends to keep on going the same way."Bothma nonetheless expressed optimism that making ferries popular in Greater Vancouver again was possible."It has been done multiple places elsewhere in the world," he added, citing Sydney, Australia as a great example of a city that took full advantage of its geography to relieve its traffic woes, "so I don't see why not."
