WATCH ABOVE: The Gagetown ferry and Peninsula Princess ferry have been out of service for months, and have now run into peak tourism season. As Global’s Laura Brown reports, residents are worried the long-term viability of the ferries is up in the air.
GAGETOWN, N.B. – Several New Brunswick communities are frustrated and worried about what the future holds for two ferries.
The Gagetown Ferry and Peninsula Princess Ferry have been out of service for months for repairs and maintenance.
The delays getting the ferries back into the water have now run into peak tourism season.
“Here we are at the end of July, going into New Brunswick day in the first of August and we’re not seeing the actual ferry in service to date,” said Maurice Harquail, owner of Step-Aside Bed and Breakfast in the heart of Gagetown.
READ MORE: New Brunswick ferries held up by maintenance
Harquail says some of his guests haven’t been pleased about the lack of ferry service.
“We’ve had a lot of cyclists and they cycle down the other side of the river, expecting to come to us on the ferry, and there it was – gone. And they had to cycle all the way back.”
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Wilf Hiscock has been working to try and make sure the ferry will come back, because it’s not the first time a government has threatened the ferry’s future.
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In the 2009/10 provincial budget, the ferry was cut. It wasn’t until a working group was formed to prove its value that Shawn Graham’s government relented.
“I’ve been asked, ‘Why would you want to go on the other side?’ I ask the government official the same question, ‘why do you have to go down Queen Street in Fredericton?'” Hiscock said.
“You go because you have a reason to go.”
The Department of Transportation and Infrastructure says it’s hoping to have the ferry back in service in the coming days. It’s being inspected by Transport Canada Marine Safety.
MLA wants to ensure ferry has a permanent future
Gagetown will be losing their Service New Brunswick location and two nearby schools this year. The Gagetown School is also up for the Policy 409 review next year which could lead to its closure.
The Jemseg Bridge has also been closed until further notice.
Hiscock says the village and surrounding communities have sacrificed enough to the province’s Strategic Program Review.
READ MORE: Rural residents upset at the loss of Service N.B. locations
“We’ve done our bit. Now leave us alone and let us go ahead and live in this little community that we all love,” he said.
“If I need to go across the river to visit my property, let me do that. If a farmer needs to take a bale of hay back and forth, he should be allowed to do that.”
Ross Wetmore, PC MLA for the Gagetown-Petitcodiac area, says he’s been frustrated with the lack of information.
He wants to ensure that the ferry has a permanent future.
“Nobody has been told what the long-term viability of this ferry is. We just have no idea,” he said.
Service date unknown for the Peninsula Princess Ferry
Another New Brunswick community is going through a similar situation. The Summerville-Millidgeville ferry, Peninsula Princess, was supposed to be back in service in mid-June.
According to the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure, the ferry is still at a shipyard in Lunenburg, N.S.
“The shipyard staff have evaluated the ferry’s condition and repairs are currently underway. When more details are available on the ferry’s estimated return to service date, the department will notify the public,” a spokesperson from the department said in an email.
The ferry takes 15 minutes and travels 1.9 kilometres, connecting Saint John to the Kingston Peninsula.
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