New Wolfe Island Ferry hopes to bring people, business to the island
Construction on the Wolfe Island Ferry is now well underway, and making great strides.
The island off the shore of Kingston, Ont. is a small village of 1,500 people, and a handful of small businesses on its Main Street. To visit, tourists and locals need a ferry to access it.
The spot is a popular destination for visitors during the summer, and there have been reports of long wait times to get on and off the island.
Last September, the Ministry of Transportation closed off the Marysville dock to begin construction on a new one that will host a new electric ferry to improve services to the community.
Tom Carpenter is the owner of Hotel Wolfe Island that sits down the street from the new ferry.
He says businesses hope for it to be a ‘boon’ to the local economy.
“We utterly assume that the terminal means we’re going to be utterly swamped with that walk-on traffic,” he says. “We assume that it’s going to go back to how it was, and then a whole lot more. The ferry has a lot more room, a lot more people can get on it, and... it will be a tourist attraction in and of itself.”
The new ferry will connect downtown Kingston to Marysville Main Street, all year round.
It will be fully electric, and the Ministry of Transportation says it will be able to carry 400 people and 83 cars. That’s up from the current ferry’s 55 car capacity.
Denis Doyle, the mayor of Frontenac Islands, says the project is also replacing the old dock that’s close to 50 years old.
“It previously only held seven or eight cars on the ferry dock itself,” he explains. “And all the other traffic to be loaded, had to snake down the main streets of Marysville which took a lot a long time to cue up when they loaded it.”
To accommodate, construction and expansion is also being undertaken at the Kingston Ferry terminal as well.
Carpenter tells CTV News Ottawa that there are some concerns that the new ferry could cause the island to lose some of its charm. The price of progress.
“It’s like a bigger highway here now, (that) means that there’s going to be a lot more pressure on real estate,” says Carpenter.
Still, restaurant owners like Casey Fisher, who co-owns the Wolfe Island Waterfront Grill, welcomes the business.
“It’s long overdue, as people know it takes three hours to get on or off the island in the summertime, so it’ll be refreshing to have a new ferry service and double and triple our capacity with passengers to the island that’s for sure,” he says. “I think it’ll bring us a lot more business in the shoulder season and in the winter it’ll allow us to keep people employed twelve months a year.”
The MTO say the Marysville ferry and terminal are set to be opened on schedule in December 2022.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'Most of the city is evacuating': Gridlock on Alberta highway after evacuation order in Fort McMurray
Four Fort McMurray neighbourhoods were ordered to evacuate on Tuesday as a wildfire gets closer to the city.
Sask. police seize 1.5M pieces of evidence, lay 60 more charges in child exploitation case
Saskatchewan RCMP have revealed that a historic sexual assault investigation has led to the discovery of alleged crimes against children dating back to 2005.
'Inappropriate' behaviour shuts down Dublin to New York City portal
Less than a week after two public sculptures featuring a livestream between Dublin, Ireland, and New York City debuted, 'inappropriate behaviour' in real-time interactions between people in the two cities has prompted a temporary shutdown.
Oilers starting Calvin Pickard in goal for Game 4 vs. Canucks
The Edmonton Oilers will start Calvin Pickard in net Tuesday for Game 4 of their playoff series with the Vancouver Canucks.
Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker rails against Pride month, working women in commencement speech
Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker railed against Pride month, working women, President Biden's leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic and abortion during a commencement address at Benedictine College last weekend.
King Charles III unveils his first official portrait since his coronation
King Charles III has unveiled the first portrait of the monarch completed since he assumed the throne, a vivid image that depicts him in the bright red uniform of the Welsh Guards against a background of similar hues.
Full List Are these Canada's best restaurants? Annual top 100 list revealed
The annual list of Canada's top restaurants in the country was just released and here are the places that made the 2024 cut.
Alberta announces the 4 health agencies that will replace AHS later this year
The province has released more information on its plan to break up Alberta Health Services and replace it with four sector-based health agencies.
Biden administration moving ahead on US$1 billion arms package for Israel, AP sources say
The Biden administration has told key lawmakers it is sending a new package of more than US$1 billion in arms and ammunition to Israel, two congressional aides said Tuesday.