I realise that all the local Marine merchants want it left where it is, but the traffic problem as far as I know is unresolved. There is nowhere to put in an extra road.
My suggestion is to put it in Historic Townsite, Townsite is becoming a small ghost town, yet this should be our main tourist centre. You have a lot of history there and Townsite desperately needs a break since the hospital has been relocated. It is a five minute drive to Westview with an option of getting there through Cranberry which would give them a little more badly needed business. By having the ferry in Townsite, we would help support both Cranberry and Townsite. Westview merchants would still thrive with there specialised stores that are there now. We all have to be willing to share the pie.
Powell River cries for tourists yet has done very little. Westview has little to offer tourists in the way decorum. If we put money into more development of Townsite, we could have a very popular tourist nook like Gastown is to Vancouver. If it became trendy enough, I am sure that the Marine merchants would do well also. Townsite with a ferry and some renovation could be a hot tourist attraction for Powell River as a whole. Someone even suggested to me that some kind of project could be employed at minimal cost to paint the bulkhead boats with some colourful displays of art.
If we play our cards right and place the ferry in Townsite, it could work out very well. We need to give Townsite a BIG boost to get tourists here. We also need to work out a plan to make the ferries free to bring in more tourists. Other remote areas have free ferry service, so why not us! We're pretty remote as most can see. Maybe this is something that Gordon Wilson could look into if he really cares about Powell River the way he says he does. Let's get Townsite up and running. Put the ferry there.
Richard Vizzutti