Lineup frustrations prompt call for immediate upgrade to Denman-Hornby Island ferry

For the few thousand visitors who travel to Hornby Island each year, it's a trip worth taking but local leaders are worried that might change.

To get to Hornby, travellers take a short ferry trip from Vancouver Island to Denman Island, and then another from Denman to Hornby. The actual travel time is less than an hour, but with the wait for ferries, it can take more than three. Ferries generally sail every hour, and during busy times, there can be multiple-sailing waits.

Now, members of the local ferry advisory committee say a change to the capacity of the Kahlokeferry could make waits even longer.

They say a regular assessment from Transport Canada ruled that the ferry, which sails between Denman and Hornby, can no longer carry as much weight as it used to. That means when the 21-car vessel takes on heavier commercial vehicles, it cannot take as many cars as it normally would.

"And so the ferry sails, the deck's half empty," says Karen Rossof the Hornby Island Community Economic Enhancement Corporation.

"There's people waiting in line to get onto that ferry, the scheduled ferry that they thought they were going to catch just left, and they can see the empty space."

She says she's already getting calls from frustrated residents, who can't understand why ferries are sailing with room left on deck.

Some are seeing an increase in delivery fees from services on Vancouver Island, who are charging more because of the time it takes to deliver things like construction supplies.

A 'painful' situation for locals

Stephen Bishop has lived on Hornby Island for nearly 40 years. His family owns a resort and restaurant, and he says he makes weekly supply runs to Vancouver Island.

To make sure he gets on the first sailing of the day, he parks his car in the lineup the night before. To get home, a trip that should last one hour can take up to four.

Bishop says they give visitors to their resort ample warning, and people don't seem to mind. Buthe says it's "painful" for locals. "If they are now in a situation where they can't even make a full capacity for that ferry, that's going to make it that much worse," he said.

Ross worries about what will happen this summer when tourists start to arrive.Even if they're willing to wait, there's no terminal with services to keep them occupied, although construction forone will begin late this year.

As lineups snake down island roads, waiting children have nowhere to play, and there are no washrooms nearby.

Ross says Hornby is in line to get an upgraded ship from B.C. Ferries, but not until 2026. She says they can't wait that long.

She and two fellow members of the ferry advisory committee are calling on the corporation to swap in a new vessel now and for the province to step in and help. They'd also like a bigger ferry between Denman and Hornby.

B.C. Ferries confirms the larger ship will come to the route in 2026. In a statement to CBC News, spokesperson Deborah Marshall said the route is seeing increased commercial traffic, including heavy duty construction vehicles which weigh a lot.

"We intend to work with commercial carriers to try to spread out their traffic onto different sailings to minimize any instances of unutilized deck space generated by the overall deadweight limitations," said Marshall.

The Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure said in a statementit is "aware of the potential for sailing waits on B.C. Ferries' Denman-Hornby route this summer," and that it is in discussion with B.C. Ferries about "a long-term solution to the sailing wait times on the Denman-Hornby route, as well as other routes in the coastal ferry system."

It says the solutions will be submittedto the B.C. Ferry Commission this fall.