Priority is moving people, not vehicles

Re: “All hands on deck for the Nanaimo ferry dream,” column, Jan. 9.

“The government’s transportation obligations are met by B.C. Ferries.” That is how Les Leyne deftly summed it up.

Let us broaden that. The government’s transportation obligations are met by highways. The current B.C. Ferries iteration is just a highway for cars on the water. They carry foot passengers only out of convenience. It is time that focus changed.

With everything we have learned from the 20th century, what will the dominant 21st-century transportation paradigm be? Government knows all too well the financial black hole, direct and indirect, of highway infrastructure. It should also recognize the growing body of people who do not wish to purchase, license, fuel and operate one or more vehicles (be they gasoline or EV).

Given those realities, and other impending challenges, the government’s transportation obligations are not met solely by highways.

All other modes of surface transportation for citizens, be it ferry or rail, public or private, operate at the mercy of taxpayer-subsidized highways. To be able to achieve a truly efficient and equal future, it is time the government takes a much more direct interest in moving people, rather than only vehicles.

Chris Alemany Former city councillor Port Alberni