Vancouver Park Board votes in favour of passenger ferry between Vancouver, Bowen Island and Sunshine Coast

The Vancouver Park Board has made the dream of a passenger ferry between downtown, Bowen Island and Gibsons a little closer to reality.

The Vancouver Park Board has voted in favour of a proposed foot-passenger-only ferry connecting downtown Vancouver with Bowen Island and the Sunshine Coast.

In a meeting Monday night, park board commissioners unanimously approved changes to the rules around Harbour Green Dock to allow the service—clearing the way for city staff to begin negotiations with the company behind the project.

The service, proposed by CIRQL Ferries Incorporated, would use an all-electric vessel that would charge at the dock, located on Coal Harbour’s waterfront.

Crossings on the proposed route are expected to take about 30 minutes.

If the project moves ahead, the company would cover the cost of designing, building and installing the required infrastructure, while the city would receive a portion of the revenue.

The proposal includes several upgrades to Harbour Green Dock, including a public viewing platform and space for short-term recreational moorage.

The dock—originally built in 2003—has required lengthy periods of closure for maintenance over recent years, according to the park board.

“In the absence of this project, the park board would continue to incur increasing costs to maintain and replace the existing public dock infrastructure over time. The proposed approach provides an opportunity to renew the public dock infrastructure at no cost to the city,” the report to commissioners reads.

With the park board’s approval, the plan will now move into a more detailed design phase, followed by additional approvals and public consultation.

“The proposed replacement of Harbour Green Dock with an electric passenger ferry service facility represents an opportunity to enhance regional connectivity while supporting low-emission transportation, improved public access and renewed recreational boat moorage on the waterfront via investment from the proponent,” the park board report reads.

CIRQL Ferries Incorporated hopes to have the service up and running by 2028.

With files from CTV News Vancouver’s Kaija Jussinoja.