One ferry at Glenora until mid-July is unacceptable
Administrator | Jun 10, 2013 | Comments 5
I am writing to express my dismay that the seasonal addition of the second ferry between Adolphustown and Glenora has been delayed until at least mid-July.
As you know, this ferry link is a vital part of Loyalist Parkway/Highway 33 and joins the two counties of Lennox & Addington and Prince Edward. Already this spring vehicles have lined up on weekends for more than an hour to wait for the single ferry service.
When summer arrives, with only one ferry, it is likely there will be 2 to 3-hour waits on weekdays and much more on weekends. Those frustrated by long waits will have only the choice of taking the longer routes along Highways 2, 49, and 401 or of travelling elsewhere, bypassing our counties, or of staying home.
So many will be affected by the delays: the large number of people who regularly commute to work between Picton and Kingston; farmers who farm land in these adjacent counties; tradespeople and shoppers who use the ferry for service and commerce; the summer staff who would otherwise be working on second ferry shifts; and significantly, tourists.
The reason for the delay? Apparently, the Amherst Island Ferry is in drydock in Hamilton so the second ferry at Glenora is needed for the crucial Amherst Island service.
One would think, in a province which celebrates and benefits from having the largest fresh-water lake system in the world, there would be sufficient ferry service for all and that within the provincial government the Ministry of Transportation, the Ministry of Economic Development-Trade and Employment and the Ministry of Tourism-Culture and Sportwould have been working together to ensure sufficient service.
Thank you for your attention to this problem.
This letter was composed and forwarded to Randy Hillier MPP by a group of concerned citizens of the Adolphustown and Bath area who are part of his constituency. As a resident of Prince Edward County I strongly support their concern.
Steve Manlow
(This letter has been forwarded to ministers of transportation, economic development, rural affairs and the attorney general, Todd Smith MPP, Peter Mertens and Robert Quaiff of the Prince Edward County Council; leaders of the Ontario opposition parties and Premier Wynne. As well, the Prince Edward County tousrism/chamber of commerce and OPP were contacted.)
Filed Under: Letters and Opinion • News from Everywhere Else
I’m sure the ferry staff are all getting an earful too, even though it is clearly not their fault. I have been advising all my visitors to take the bridge. As someone who used the ferry to commute to Kingston for six years I appreciate the service, never mind that it saved me 20km of driving each way! Once again the taxpayer has to pick up the extra cost.
Another issue is safety. Those not anticipating the extended line ups will be coming into the area driving much too fast when it is quite likely that people will be walking around with children and pets while they wait. This has always been a problem… trust me. I have been passed by cars while driving this route as if I’m standing still. Will the OPP have to post an officer on the adulphuston side to prevent potential pile ups, or will we need to wait for a disaster before this additional problem is addressed?
One would wonder about the quality of strategic planning undertaken by MTO when they have an obligation to overhaul these ferries every five years and realize waiting to transport them for repairs until spring has it risks. One of the ferries at Glenora is out of service for the winter by the fall of the year. It would make sense knowing the needs 5 yrs in advance to minimize the problems we are now experiencing by timetabling one of the Glenora ferries to take over the Amherst Island run after it is no longer serving Glenora in the fall when there is far less concern in respect to ice.
” Yeesh, what kind of government have we gotten ourselves into? ”
On that does not serve “ALL” of the people. Just special interest groups and those who follow the Party in Power’s ideology. Corporations figured this out decades ago and therefore lobby and give to all Parties in power so that they can get their agenda looked after.
We the people need to demand that our Government’s at all levels stick to the PURPOSE and PRINCIPLES that we ALL agree on.
So very true…no brains they are all in their wallets!!!
I understand that drydocking the Amherst ferry is part of a five-year cycle.
Our brilliant brains in government apparently didn’t think it was a good idea to drydock it last FALL, when one of our ferries sits idle all winter.
It seems that five-years-warning was not enough time to put together a proper plan.
Yeesh, what kind of government have we gotten ourselves into?