ASK Salt Spring: Answered - EP 16 - Adam Olsen - Variety of Ganges Topics

Episode Date: July 7, 2023

Ask Salt Spring Answered: Conversation with Adam Olsen, Green Party MLA about BC Ferries, Ganges Revitalization and the suggested 30k/h speed limit in the Ganges Village.

Welcome to the Cheer.fm podcast, Ask Salt Spring Answered. After many Ask Salt Spring events, we sit down in our studio with Gail Baker's guest and review some of the key points discussed. Hi and welcome to episode 16 in which our Damien Inwood talks once again with Adam Olson about several subjects including BC Ferries, Ganges revitalization and potential speed limit changes in the Ganges village. Okay I'm sitting here with Adam Olson he's the Green Party MLA for Saanich North and the Islands. And we've just been at Ask Salt Spring. And we covered a number of topics. And one of them which came up, of course, was the ferry situation here. I don't know why.

In the light of what happened at the weekend where at Vesuvius all services were cancelled at one point and then reinstated at 3 o'clock in the afternoon, causing widespread panic, apparently, for the show-and-shine people who brought their cars over from Duncan and various other places on the island and thought they weren't going to be able to get back, and had people running around all over the place to different ferry terminals to try and sort that out. One thing you did say in the meeting was that you felt that communications were imperative and that we should see an improvement. Perhaps you can talk a bit more about that.

Well, I mean, I think the problems at BC Ferries have been well documented. It's a systemic issue, and I think there are, and meeting and having a conversation with the CEO and having the new CEO, Nicholas Jimenez, and having conversations with other people around the ferry system, the remedies are going to be both, they're going to be short, medium, and long-term when it comes to staffing and making sure that the mechanics

on these machines are working well. One of the things in the short-term when it comes to staffing and making sure that the mechanics on these machines are working well. One of the things in the short-term aspect of this is ramping up communications with the public and with their customers. And I think that this is absolutely necessary. We're going to have staffing shortages causing disruptions of the system. That's going to happen. We're going to have mechanical failures that are going to disrupt the system, that that's going to happen. We're going to have mechanical failures that are going to disrupt the system. But it's how that's communicated to the public. It's how the BC Ferry Service is connecting with the public and connecting the public with the information that they need to have that I think is a short-term solution that is right in front of

ferries that they need to get a hold of. They need to communicate more directly. They need to communicate in a way that people are receiving the information. They need to have an app that is able to be able to send direct messages to people. I mean, all of these technologies exist. They're just not being utilized to the extent that I think BC Ferry should be. And I think the key thing here is that they're going to be communicating information that people don't necessarily want to hear, but as long as they can get it and are able to plan for it, then that's going to ease some of the frustration that I think we're hearing from customers. Yeah. I think it would be interesting to see if they would go for

a disruptions app. I'm sure they wouldn't want to call it that, because I know they do have an app and it's fairly cumbersome and it's not really very useful to people who haven't made bookings, which of course we don't make bookings getting to and from Salisbury apart from on the Long Harbour ferry. So you can't really identify passengers like you can on a booking system. So I'm not quite sure how they do it. Well, I mean, I think that if you're going to be a user of the BC ferry system, you download an app, and that app has full capacity to be able to send you push notifications.

That, you know, the ferry system is delayed, and you can have a chance to turn those on or turn them off. But I think there are communication tools and techniques that are available that corporations are deploying so that they can communicate with their customers, whether it be a sale is happening or a sale is over or a sale is about to be over. The reality of it is that there are tools that could be utilized that are not being utilized. And I think that one of the short-term areas that BC Ferries needs to invest in and invest in quickly is communications. If you are going to have, and seemingly the corporation has said the disruptions are going to continue for some time until we can solve the medium and long-term systemic issues. If that's the case, then really invest heavily in the communications aspects of your organization. Create a face of the organization that resonates with the public that you're communicating with.

Have them deliver that message. Find ways to communicate with people through social media, not just Twitter. You know, most of the people aren't on Twitter. That's where the media is. Where are the people? They're on Instagram, they're on TikTok, they're on Facebook, they're on these social media apps. And there are ways for the organization, the company to use those tools very effectively and communicating in a language that I think shows empathy and compassion for the people whose lives are being disrupted and communicating almost more than you feel like you need to in order so that people feel that

you're very attentive to the fact that the breakdown or the lack of staffing is actually causing a disruption. When you think about the people who came over to Salt Spring Island with their shiny old vehicles, who might not have a place to stay here, and there's limited accommodations on this island, and so you can't get off the island, and you also don't have a place to stay on the island, even if you could, even if you chose to. So there is a panic that sets in. It's a where am I going to be tonight? I never considered that I was going to be anywhere but in my own bed. Right. So that then then the response and then it's then it becomes a big problem.

And then we you know, that's what we hear on the media. And what did Nicholas Jimenez say to you when you met with him about this? Did you discuss the communications issue? Well, I mean, I think that, yes, we did have this discussion. And I think that, well, I'll just say this. I think the point's landed. Yeah, okay. All right, another thing that we talked about was the Chamber of Commerce

brought up the question of vibrancy and beautification of the downtown core and the discussion kind of revolved around who was going to take responsibility for this and you you told us a story about Brentwood Bay which your hometown I guess. And how they achieved, you know, considerable beautification and improvements in their downtown area. Perhaps you could just tell us a bit about that and how you think it might work on Saltsbury. Well, you know, when you take a look at the beautification that happened in Brentwood Bay, I think it was maybe about 10 or 12 years ago now, actually maybe a little bit longer than that. But it really started with the community coming together and creating a revitalization committee that created a vision for what they would like to see for that corridor on West Saanich Road in Brentwood Bay.

And then, you know, that generated momentum. It was a generative process that created some momentum, some inertia behind it. And then the local government, and then they brought it to the local government, and the local government then took it and moved it forward. And so, you know, I think that part of the challenge, of course, on Salt Spring is that you've got fragmented governance here, where there's a number of governing bodies that are represented by, you know, one municipal government in central Saanich, as an example. inertia around what would we like to see or what the community in Salt Spring would like to see in Ganges and then bringing those governing those decision-making bodies around the table and there's a bunch of them you know there's the Islands Trust, the CRD, the school district, the water district, the fire district, the chamber of commerce right There's a variety of different, uh, um, yeah, interests that can

be brought around the table and that those ideas that, you know, have that vision can then be introduced and, um, those bodies can pick it up and, and, and start to carry that and implement it. I think it is in the same time, what needs to happen is some of those smaller projects that can be done, and we already see that happening around. I think one of the murals projects was an example that was described. The ambassador program is another program that was described. There are things that can be done on an ongoing basis to improve the Ganges receptivity of visitors and people during the summer month

as an example, which was the context of the question was asked him. Yeah. Well, it's interesting because it appears that the idea of a task force was brought to the Islands Trust and it got kind of bogged down for various bureaucratic reasons. And so it didn't really go anywhere. Islands Trust and it got kind of bogged down in you know for various bureaucratic reasons and so it didn't really go anywhere. Then we had the other gentleman who raised the question of why don't we just go up one story and we'll have more people and more money in the downtown area but

that's a whole different conversation than building a bus shelter that looks nice or making the place more receptive to visitors. It seems like we always seem to take the difficult route somehow rather than perhaps looking for the simplest way. Well, I think the key here is to take a look at the fact that you've got there are so many different decision-making bodies that have to be in alignment here, that if any one of them was, you know, in charge of this process, for example, there's going to be a point at which they arrive at where their jurisdiction ends and another body's jurisdiction begins. And in a municipal environment, as an example,

many more of those, there's fewer of those spaces. That doesn't make it impossible, it makes it more challenging here on Salt Spring, but not impossible. The reality is that if there is a revitalization committee, as an example, that is made up of public members, members from the public, and some of these bodies, they can create that vision.

And what it does is it then gets put in front of the governing bodies or the people who are making those decisions, and they then become part of the process together, right? And so I think it's not a situation where you've got one of those bodies leading it from the beginning and then arriving at a spot where then they don't have the authority and they say, well, we can't move any further forward because, you know, that group over there is responsible for this. And so I really think that it's that, I mean, I'll just

leave it at this. I think I've seen this be a successful process. And I know that this has been a conversation that is, you know, it's not brand new. There's been some conversation that's already happened on Salt Spring. And so I think that there's a lot of work that's already been done. And now it's just a matter of bringing those voices around the table and and um getting that vision laid out and having the having a broader conversation to make sure it's informed by the public uh and then you know bringing the different decision-making bodies around this together to um and to start to implement it. Yeah. And would the provincial government,

would your office be involved in that process? Well, I think I'm always interested in participating in processes. I think it's important to have the different governing, levels of government at the table because, you know, as we arrive at those different areas, where does the provincial government get involved in this project? Where are the funding opportunities for that?

It's always important to have our office involved throughout the process. We can provide advice about how the provincial government may or may not be engaged. And as well, we're connected in to other communities around as well that are and can be useful resources in the discussion. So I'm always happy to be engaged at whatever levels is appropriate. In this case, I think that it is an exercise that is done at the local government level, but there's a lot of funding that comes through the provincial and federal governments that would make it,

you know, I think really smart for us to be there and we'll be there. Okay. Last time you were here a month ago, you had Rob Fleming with you, the Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure. And I said I wasn't going to talk about transportation, but I will just touch on it because I know that Myna Lee was there today and she was interested in the subject. The question of the 30 kilometre an hour speed limit. There was something in the Driftwood, I think, where they were talking about that and they mentioned that Ask Salt Spring was coming up. Can you tell us, have you talked to the minister lately about when he was here, he seemed to indicate that it would be fairly simple to change the speed limit in the village area to 30k. Have you heard any more about that?

Well, I think it's important that politicians don't determine what the speed limits are, that there's engineering that determines that. Some of that work has been done on the cycling safety study cycling safety study that was recently released said more of the technical work needs to be done to ensure that we know what the appropriate speed limits are certainly i think it's it's a simpler scenario for ganges for an example when you take a look at other you know towns or or village sites they you know 30 kilometers an hour is a 30 kilometers all the way through Sydney as one example of this. Right. So the other roads servicing Ganges, a bit different of a scenario. So, you know, I've never been it's never been my experience that politicians are the ones that make the decisions about what speed limits there are.

I mean, I think in the end, it's a conversation that needs to continue with the ministry. The ministry staff were there. South Island was there. They're very well aware that this has been a conversation that's been happening. And I think it's been moving, actually. It's not that it's stalled. I think that we've got more information today now that that report was done than we had and there are still some questions that need to be answered. And so we'll continue to advocate with the ministry. We'll continue to advocate with the regional office. We'll continue to work with the CRD and with others to deal with what is ongoing traffic and transportation-related issues.

And in the end, I don't think that it's Minister Fleming or it's the MLA or it's any elected official that makes the decision in the end. It's a decision that's made based on the data that they have, the roads that we have, the engineering of those roads. So it could be a while. And, of course, in the meantime, they're concentrating on getting the Ganges Hill project started. I guess I think from what they said it should start in the fall and take about a year to complete. So maybe 30 clicks after that? I mean, I think ultimately the point was made very clearly directly to the minister

and directly to the minister's staff that the desire on Salt Spring is to have the speeds of traffic be looked at and be addressed and be dealt with. We know that they've made a commitment to deal with paint and and road marking and road signage um and the the um there's been some advice that was made in the report about uh about traffic speeds and and work that needs to be done in order to make sure that the the number not just in ganges but across the island is is the right speed for the roads that we have. So I think that I wouldn't suggest that they're necessarily, I think they're more parallel

than stacked as maybe you described them. Okay, great. Well, thanks Adam for coming in. It was nice to talk to you and you've been listening to Cheer Dolby FM, the voice of the Gulf Islands.