It wasn’t the announcement they had been expecting, but Inner Harbour stakeholders and others with a vested interest in Victoria’s transportation infrastructure appeared content with news the province is about to start a transportation consultation process on Vancouver Island.
During a Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce luncheon, Transportation Minister Todd Stone announced parliamentary secretary Jordan Sturdy will hit the road and over the next two weeks will meet with Island municipalities, companies and First Nations to determine where the province should spend money as part of a new 10-year transportation plan.
The meetings will take place in Victoria, Duncan, Nanaimo, Port Alberni, Courtenay-Comox, Campbell River and Port Hardy.
While it sounded like yet another in a long series of discussions over aging infrastructure such as the much-maligned Belleville Street Terminal, stakeholders said there were reasons to have hope in what Stone said in his hour-long speech.
“What we heard today was they will set expectations over the next two weeks, but they are also committed to actually getting something done,” said Victoria Mayor Dean Fortin.
Fortin said when the city is consulted, its message to the ministry will be clear — deal with Belleville Street. “Belleville Street has been the top priority for the region, so we see that as the one we need to move forward on.”
Before Stone’s presentation, some of the crowd, many from the tourism and transportation industries, said they were expecting traction on things like the terminal or something more concrete than the start of a short consultation process.
Randy Wright, executive vice president of Harbour Air, told Stone what many in the room were thinking — that there has been more than enough talk about Belleville.
“It’s been going on for a long time — my hope is we get something done on that,” he told Stone during a question-and-answer session. “We are a gateway to this country and to B.C. and I hope you will seriously look at that.”
Stone softened expectations by saying the government had to operate with fiscal discipline and often has to say no to projects and plans.
And though he said the Belleville Street Terminal is a key economic player, he did not commit to any kind of a plan.
“There is no doubt in my mind that there is a tremendous desire among everyone here in Victoria to work together and with the province as well to take the harbour to the next level. It’s a tremendous asset,” he said.
“There’s a tremendous economic opportunity here in Greater Victoria.”
When asked what kind of investment the Island and Victoria will see in the 10-year transportation plan, Stone said it was too early to estimate.
“It’s fair to say we need to make sure Victoria and southern Vancouver Island figure prominently as a critical and important gateway for B.C.,” he said.
That seemed to be good enough for those with a vested interest in the harbour.
“I’m encouraged. We are getting to a point where so many people are aligning on Belleville and we’re happy with the ministry’s leadership on all of this,” said Ryan Malane, vice-president of marketing for Black Ball Ferry Line, which operates the Coho between Victoria and Port Angeles.
Curtis Grad, chief executive of the Greater Victoria Harbour Authority, said the message he took away was the province is focused on its transportation plan for B.C. and the Island.
“They did a plan 10 years ago that they implemented and if they do the same for the next 10 years, I’ll be very pleased,” he said.
