Tsawwassen ferry terminal

Tsawwassen is a ferry terminal and a major transportation facility in Delta, British Columbia, part of the BC Ferries system and Highway 17. Positioned less than 500 metres (1,600 ft) from the 49th parallel along the Canada–United States border,[2] it is located at the southwestern end of a 3-kilometre (2 mi) causeway that juts out into the Strait of Georgia off the mainland at the community of Tsawwassen. With an approximate size of 23 hectares (57 acres), it is the largest ferry terminal in North America.

Tsawwassen
Ferry terminal
Tsawwassen ferry terminal from the air
General information
Location1 Ferry Causeway
Delta, British Columbia
Canada
Coordinates 49.0086567°N 123.1289291°W / 49.0086567; -123.1289291
Owned byBC Ferries
Operated byBC Ferries
Line(s)Route 1–Swartz Bay
Route 9–Long Harbour
Route 30–Duke Point
Bus stands2
Bus operatorsCoast Mountain Bus Company
Connections
Construction
Parking
  • 168 short-term spaces
  • 716 long-term spaces
AccessibleYes
Other information
Station codeTSA[1]
Websitewww.bcferries.com/travel-boarding/terminal-directions-parking-food/vancouver-tsawwassen/TSA
History
OpenedJune 15, 1960
Passengers
20224 144 789[lower-alpha 1] Increase 47.42%

History
BC Ferries vessel, Salish Raven, loading passengers and cars at the Tsawwassen terminal

In the late 1950s, the search for a mainland ferry terminal that would connect British Columbia's Lower Mainland with the Victoria area on Vancouver Island involved extensive scouting of locations, from Steveston to White Rock. Despite concerns of rough seas and bad weather, the favoured site soon became the area offshore from the Tsawwassen First Nation reserve.

Construction of the terminal began in 1959, after BC Transportation Minister Phil Gaglardi, on divided engineering advice, selected the site. Construction of an artificial island began, and the causeway was built from the island back towards the mainland.[3] The endeavour used an estimated 2.3 million cubic metres (3.0 million cubic yards) of boulder, rock, and gravel fill.[4]

To connect Highway 99 to the new terminal, an 11-kilometre-long (6.8 mi) highway was constructed near the southern end of the Deas Tunnel and through the edge of Ladner and became a portion of Highway 17. The terminal opened on June 15, 1960.[5]

In the mid-1990s, a major renovation and expansion of the terminal was undertaken.

Issues

The isolated causeway location of the terminal was criticized locally in its formative years but has allowed and continues to allow terminal expansion to cope with growing vehicle traffic.

In 2003, the Tsawwassen First Nation filed legal action in the BC Supreme Court over the destruction of the foreshore and other concerns caused by the impact of the terminal and the nearby Roberts Bank Superport.[6] Concerns were also expressed in 2005 about eutrophication, or destructive bacterial buildup, in the waters between the terminal and the Roberts Bank facility.[7]

Ferry facilities and connections

Currently, there are five berths at the Tsawwassen ferry terminal. The terminal primarily serves routes travelling to the Swartz Bay ferry terminal, north of Victoria, and the southern Gulf Islands.

On May 1, 1990, a connection from Tsawwassen to Nanaimo called the "Mid-Island Express" was established,[8] providing the fastest surface connection between Northern Vancouver Island and the border with the United States at Blaine, and, since the opening of the South Fraser Perimeter Road, to the Fraser Valley and points east. The route ran to Departure Bay until 1997, when the Duke Point ferry terminal opened.

The quickest path between the terminal and Active Pass, for ferries travelling to the Gulf Islands or to Swartz Bay, passes over approximately 8 km (5 mi) of United States waters in the Strait of Georgia.

The terminal is served by public transportation through TransLink's 620 bus route.

BC Ferries' Tsawwassen terminal, with Roberts Bank Superport at back left

See also
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Tsawwassen ferry terminal.

Notes
  1. Figures obtained for 2021 & 2022 from adding the passengers counted at Tsawwassen from the routes 1, 9, and 30 in each month of the calendar year.[1] The figures under "Total Prev Year" are not used because those denote fiscal years instead of calendar years. The total passenger count at Tsawwassen for 2021 is 2,811,472. Only statistics denoting "passenger" traffic is counted; it is unclear whether passengers from vehicles are included in this statistic. The significant percentage increase from 2021 to 2022 is due to reduced 2021 passenger traffic from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in British Columbia.

References
  1. "Plans, Reports, Policies and Other Resources". Connecting the Coast. BC Ferries. Retrieved 2023-08-22.
  2. Google (11 August 2020). "Tsawwassen Ferry Terminal" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
  3. Bannerman, Gary; Bannerman, Patricia (1985). The Ships of British Columbia. Hancock House Publishers Ltd. p. 54.
  4. "BC Ferries website - Milestones". Archived from the original on 2006-07-17. Retrieved 2007-03-14.
  5. "New Ferries 'In Business'". Victoria Daily Times. June 15, 1960. p. 1. Retrieved October 11, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. "Ferries, port face suit". Delta Optimist. 11 December 2003. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007.
  7. Gulyas, Maureen (June 25, 2005). "Residents going APE over port expansion". Delta Optimist. Archived from the original on October 30, 2006.
  8. Staff Writer (May 1, 1990). "Daybreak". The Province. Retrieved August 23, 2022 – via ProQuest.
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