Vaporetti (Water buses) for the Gorge?
I haven’t been to Venice in the last twenty years, but one of the strongest memories of my time there, was riding on the vaporetti across the city. It was amazing that there was this public transit that for a relatively small amount of money would give you some of the most amazing views of this jewel of Italy. Looking back at Victoria, the one view of the city that I know that will always continue to awe-inspire me is at the front of the Coho just after it has passed the Outer Harbour and it comes around the corner to look down the Inner Harbour towards the Empress. I have had the chance to see that view at least four times and it is amazing.
While not everyone wants to go over to Port Angeles just to take in a view of Victoria, there is a very accessible option with the many small water taxis that ply the harbour. The water taxis are primarily there to move tourists around in the summer months, and I imagine that many of those visitors have a similar feeling about seeing Victoria, as I did about Venice all those years ago. To be clear, I love the water taxis. I would take them all the time if it didn’t cost $12.50 each time per person. I know that they have the Water Bus Pass now that lowers that cost to $10 but you need to buy a card for $100. That said if you think about the convenience factor, there is a real benefit to it. You can hop on a harbour ferry at Value Village and go for lunch at Fisherman’s Wharf. I would bet that the water taxi probably beats out the street taxi in getting you there as well! It really is a great service and even in the winter, you can hop on the water taxis from 10-4 every day of the week. That said, even with the discounted pass, you are not going to use the boats for commuting. Assuming about 20 working days and going both ways on the boat, it would cost you $400 a month and also with the current hours, you couldn’t use it even if you wanted to spend the money. But the idea is a good one.
With the Gorge Waterway, we have this unobstructed and lightly trafficked route right through the heart of the city. If we could add even a limited commuter vaporetto service to the Gorge, I expect it could be a popular option. Also without other vehicles in front of you, there would be limited traffic delays and certainly no construction to slow the boat down. Ideally, you would want to be able to have a route start out at the north western reaches of Portage Inlet but given the rapids at the narrows under the Tillicum bridge, that is really not an option.
There was actually a plan at one point it blast out even more rock than already has been removed from the narrows and even to add a canal through to Esquimalt harbour. That was in the mid 20th Century and that idea really never got much beyond the dreaming phase. Dorothy Mindenhall gets into the details of the plan in her amazing book, Unbuilt Victoria. The plan was to improve the cleanliness of the Gorge by having it receive tidal water from two sides. Then there would be access for boats through a small canal in current View Royal. It would have been an epic plan.
Given current environmental limitations and cost, any vaporetto service would have to start just east of the current Tillicum Bridge. From there it could travel down to Selkirk, perhaps a stop at Dockside Green before stopping somewhere just to the south of the Johnson Street Bridge. A second route could start at Westbay Marina and stop maybe once at Fisherman’s Wharf before again ending at the west side of downtown.
Given that the current water taxis are already in place, maybe the CRD could work with them to fund a trial run on a scheduled service perhaps two runs in the morning and two runs in the evening for a fixed monthly cost? I would love to see a full-day scheduled service in real water buses, but maybe start small and work towards it.
What are your thoughts about taking advantage of some of the natural benefits Victoria has to provide another way for people to move around the city? Let me know in the comments!