CFB Esquimalt Criticized for Cancelling Shuttle скачать в хорошем качестве

CFB Esquimalt Criticized for Cancelling Shuttle

http://www.ctvvancouverisland.ca   / ctvvi   ESQUIMALT -- The Blue Boat shuttle service was floated 50 years ago to ferry the military and CFB Esquimalt civilian staff across the harbour and DND property. The boats weren't always full, so people living on the West Shore began to hop on in the morning in Colwood to ride to work at the base, avoiding the "Colwood Crawl" on the Trans Canada Highway. But they won't be much longer. "We only have so many resources and in this case its to do with the ship's officers, the ship's engineers needed to man the vessels, and because of all our other operational requirements, we're simply not going to be able to meet that need for the cross-harbour ferry service anymore" says CFB Esquimalt Base Commander Capt. (N) Craig Baines. Baines says ferrying people to work was never the Blue Boat's mandate. With retirements, among other things, contributing to a shortage of staff, resources need to be allocated to higher priorities such as operating the base's fire boats and tugs. But critics say the decision couldn't come at a worse time. The Craigflower Bridge will close on June 1st for six months, expected to add to the infamous Trans Canada Highway bottleneck. Saanich Mayor Frank Leonard says the base's thinking is shortsighted. "We don't want to see this lost. We don't want to see less options for commuters, we want to see more...they have to know that they have employees on both sides of the water and part of their corporate responsibility would be to get them across rather than putting them on the highways." Esquimalt's Mayor is also concerned and hopes to meet with the base and her counterparts to at least come up with a quick fix. "The E&N is clearly a short term solution. We know it can get back on track and trains running, the plan is there." In the next two weeks the federal government is expected to announce whether it will match $7.5 million in provincial funding to save the E&N railway. The Mayors we spoke to know the time to lobby is running short. The blue boats are scheduled to dock for good no later than April 30th. Follow Andrew Johnson on Twitter:   / ctvnewsandrew