Province
Not only does Vancouver‘s harbour house one of North America‘s largest international shipping ports, it’s also home to one of B.C.’s busiest airports where floatplane facilities handle up to 150 flights daily during peak seasons.
In fact, more than 300,000 passengers annually are carried through the Coal Harbour floatplane terminal which is served by operators Harbour Air, West Coast Air and Baxter Aviation.
Together, they play a vital role in B.C.’s economy by carrying business, resource and provincial government employees from Vancouver to points throughout the province as well as by providing tourist services.
But the floatplanes have hit turbulence. Their future is uncertain now that some nearby waterfront residents are raising concerns about a proposed temporary relocation of the terminal 260 metres west of the existing terminal for the next three years while the Vancouver Convention Centre Expansion Project (VCCEP) is built.
The convention centre plan calls for the floatplane terminal to be part of the new facility. But even though the floatplanes must vacate the existing facility within weeks to enable construction to begin, they still haven’t received approval to relocate at the temporary facility.
That decision, which should have been made long ago, will be finalized tomorrow when the City of Vancouver‘s development permit board rules on the airlines’ request to relocate. The airlines fear the city will side with the small, vocal band of residents in the newly-built Coal Harbour apartments and condos who don’t want the floatplanes locating near their waterfront properties.
According to reports, those citizens are prepared to take a “guns blazing” approach to tomorrow’s meeting and are contemplating legal action to block the move.
We urge them to cool their jets and look at the bigger picture.
It’s in everyone’s interest for the centre expansion to take place and to include a new floatplane terminal. Both the VCCEP and the city have done the harbour’s floatplane sector a serious disservice by prolonging the uncertainty. It’s a temporary move, by the way, that will cost the three airlines about $1 million but the mid-harbour take-off and landings location will not change.
Residents must keep in mind that the Port of Vancouver is, and always has been, a working harbour — not a seaside resort.
If common sense prevails, residents and workers should be able to co-exist for mutual benefit.
IN BRIEF
Computers are now a form of electronic fast food. There is little to feed the imagination or challenge the intellect. They’re not about substance or involvement.
© The Vancouver Province 2004