Yarmouth ferry terminal ‘ key infrastructure’
Feds, province, municipal units teaming up to fund phase-one redevelopment of terminal
It was a day of good news but also a chance to look back a bit.
As they gathered on the Yarmouth waterfront to announce funding to upgrade the local ferry terminal, and spoke of the importance of an improved terminal for the region’s economic future, local political representatives also made reference to the past, to how southwestern Nova Scotia was impacted by the four years when Yarmouth was without a ferry.
West Nova MP Colin Fraser and Yarmouth MLA and provincial cabinet minister Zach Churchill – who were at the terminal Sept. 4 to announce $3-million contributions from the federal and Nova Scotia governments, respectively, towards the phase-one redevelopment of the Yarmouth ferry terminal – both cited the tough times the local area went through from 2010 to 2013, when there was no ferry sailing between Nova Scotia and New England.
Yarmouth Mayor Pam Mood, while celebrating the announcement – “We are excited beyond words,” she said – noted, as Fraser and Churchill did, that the area went through a rough period at the start of this decade but has come a long way since then. Mood was there to announce the Town of Yarmouth was contributing $1.2 million to the ferry terminal project.
The Municipality of Yarmouth also is contributing $1.2 million to the project and the Municipality of Argyle has committed $300,000. Surpluses that have accrued from Yarmouth ferry terminal operations will be used to fund the balance of the project cost.
Work to be done at the terminal includes upgrading and relocating the passenger inspection line booths, replacing the pontoon and transfer bridge and improving overall terminal facilities such as external lighting and passenger waiting areas.
Fraser was the first of the speakers for the funding announcement.
“It’s obvious that a few years ago, when this ferry service was no longer operating, what impact that had on our community,” he said, “the negative impact it had on small businesses, most especially accommodations, restaurants, artisans.”
Churchill picked up on Fraser’s theme, recalling the uncertainty that followed the cancellation of the ferry service.
“It wasn’t that long ago that we didn’t know if this building (the terminal) was going to be around,” he said.
Looking ahead to an upgraded terminal and the ferry service that will use it, he said, “I know it will be a great economic driver for this community and for this part of the province for years to come.”
Both Fraser and Churchill spoke about the importance of partnerships – different levels of government working together, etc. – a message shared by Mood.
“Truly, this is how things happen,” she said. “This is how communities come together. This is how we prosper. This is how we move forward.”
She too acknowledged the diffi- cult times that followed the loss of the ferry service.
“Without this ferry, businesses left and people went West,” she said. “We all know the stories. The town was in such a downturn that we didn’t know how we would ever turn it around.”
“It’s obvious that a few years ago, when this ferry service was no longer operating, what impact that had on our community, the negative impact it had on small businesses, most especially accommodations, restaurants, artisans.”
— Colin Fraser
The funds that are going into upgrading the terminal represent “money tremendously well spent,” she said, “to ensure that this entire end of the province continues to grow.”
Yarmouth Warden Leland Anthony said the municipality’s investment in the ferry service through upgrades to the Yarmouth terminal “signifies a continued partnership with regional, provincial and federal partners as well as the private sector. Phase one of the Yarmouth terminal redevelopment demonstrates a commitment to Canada Border Services and Bay Ferries that local government is investment-ready.”
Said Argyle Warden Richard Donaldson, “the ferry terminal is an important investment for our county and we are pleased to be a funding partner in securing important transportation infrastructure for the region and the province.”