Talks are about to begin that could see the Prince Rupert ferry stop in Port Hardy before continuing south on another proposed route.
“We’re meeting with B.C .Ferries on the 29th or 30th (of April),” said Port Hardy Mayor Bev Parnham.
The mayor said the proposal to have the ferry continue on to Tsawwassen is nothing new, but it “kind of died on the shelf” when it was proposed a couple of years ago.
“Port Hardy was somewhat interested, but Prince Rupert didn’t seem to be interested,” said Parnham.
“What they proposed previously is exactly what they’re proposing now—I think it was every two weeks when (the ferry) comes down to Port Hardy, it will continue down to Tsawwassen and pick people up there.”
Parnham said some feel there’s a real market for people on the Lower Mainland who’d love to come up this way.
“It could bring people up to Port Hardy and drop them here or take them on to Prince Rupert, depending on where they where they want to go,” said Parnham, who noted “a lot of people” on the Lower Mainland would like the additional run.
“They haven’t come forward with a schedule yet, but they were looking at doing this as a pilot project during the shoulder seasons, one this spring and then one again in the fall.”
For now it’s an idea B.C. Ferries is floating again to see what kind of interest they get.
“It could be a very interesting thing,” said Parnham.