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
Widow looking for answers after Quebec man dies in Texas Ironman competition
The widow of a Quebec man who died competing in an Ironman competition is looking for answers.
Amid concerns over 'collateral damage' Trudeau, Freeland defend capital gains tax change
Facing pushback from physicians and businesspeople over the coming increase to the capital gains inclusion rate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his deputy Chrystia Freeland are standing by their plan to target Canada's highest earners.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
U.S. Senate overwhelmingly passes aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan with big bipartisan vote
The U.S. Senate has passed US$95 billion in war aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, sending the legislation to President Joe Biden after months of delays and contentious debate over how involved the United States should be in foreign wars.
Wildfire southwest of Peace River spurs evacuation order
People living near a wildfire burning about 15 kilometres southwest of Peace River are being told to evacuate their homes.
World seeing near breakdown of international law amid wars in Gaza and Ukraine, Amnesty says
The world is seeing a near breakdown of international law amid flagrant rule-breaking in Gaza and Ukraine, multiplying armed conflicts, the rise of authoritarianism and huge rights violations in Sudan, Ethiopia and Myanmar, Amnesty International warned Wednesday as it published its annual report.
Train derailed in Sarnia after colliding with a truck
Police are investigating after a transport truck collided with a train in Sarnia.
Fewer medical students going into family medicine contributing to doctor shortage
As some family doctors are retiring and others are moving away from family medicine, there are fewer medical students to take their place.
'It's discriminatory': Individuals refused entry to Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
Individuals being barred from entering Ontario’s legislature while wearing a keffiyeh say the garment is part of their cultural identity— and the only ones making it political are the politicians banning it.