Friday, June 16, 2000 — North Shore News - 3 Residents pillory terminal plan Expansion raises more Horseshoe Bay concerns Catherine Sarr Contributing Writer NOT good enough. vas the reaction Tuesday night as ‘came out in force to respond to Ferries’ latest expansion plans for Horseshoe Bay. : Close to 150 people showed up at Gleneagles goif course to take part in a pub- lic information meeting and to hear BC Ferries president and CEO Bob Lingwood speak. Lingwood addressed a number of con- cerns, including parking and Upper Levels highway congestion. He also emphasized the changes and con- cessions BC Ferries had made since its November 1999 proposal. Most notable was the expanded under- ground parking facility and the larger vehicle holding compound. In total, the new project would cost close to $27 million. * no commercial component. This will some rock removal from the hillside. “These investments are needed,” said Lingwood referring to the new plans. “We're certainty try- ing to improve (and) we're trving to listen.” But he fatled to convince the many residents in attendance. Western Residents” Association president: and tormer Municipal councillor Liz Byrd said that Horseshoe Bay was tired of being “constantly under sicge™ by the ferry corporation. She aad many of her fellow members called for more public consultation and planning. Many area homeowners also complained thar the expanded compound did nothing to reduce the polluticn and traffic that pour into Horseshoe Bay. A tree ticket ferry reservation system was mentioned as an alternative. “Think of the money it would save,” said resi- dent Lynn Roberts. : Many residents siill want BC Ferries to remove the Nanaimo route from Horse Bay alto- wether and to establish a third Vancouver Istand ferry crossing from [ona Island (near . Richmond). < CAFTE (Citizens Against Ferry Terminal NEWS photo Julie iverson = Expansion) members urged Lingwood to look BC Ferries president Bob Lingvood explains the corporations view of the future = into the relocation of the Nanaimo route more But audience members rejected the new at Horseshoe Bay. West Vancouver residents packed a forum held Tuesday. seriously. ideas outright and called for more public con- sultation and cooperation. Previously, the ferry corporation's plans called for a privateiy run three-storey, 350- to 450-car above-ground parking facility. Also altered is the plan for a 19,000 sq. ft (1,765 sq. m) admin- istration, ticketing and commercial faciliry on Bay Street. The corporation has moved the parking facility underground and expanded it to hold 450 cars, which allows for the retention of the existing 175-car above-ground lot. The new underground parkade facility would lie beneath the expanded holding compound. The 10-lane ferry traffic holding area will accommodate around 1,200 vehicles instead of the cur- rent 650 and will run atop the parkade. The entire“area could extend as far back as the Highway 99 overpass. A few toll plaza will also be constructed. a Green Goat to But in order to implement these changes, close to 423,777.66 cu. ft. (12,000 cu. m) of rock and 882,870.12 cu. ft. (25,000 cu. m) of earth will have to be removed from under- neath the Upper Levels Highway. According to BC Ferries, no blasting of Horseshoe Bay's north hillside will occur. Many residents are concerned about the significant environ- mental impact of the expansion. They called for detailed studies - of the area. Still, BC Ferrics maintains that the rock removal is signifi- cantly less than what was first proposed back in November 1999, when over 1.5 million cu. tt. (44,000 cu. m) would have been removed from the hillside. As for the administration and ticketing building, it has been reduced to a two-storey 12,000 sq. ft. (1,115 sq. m) building graze Vv compan chael Becker. - 8 Gecker@nstiews.com «4 small North Vancouver company is‘on the verge of building the woflil’s first Green Goat. ~~ Railpower Technologies president Frank Donnelly and CFO Gerard Koldyk are not genetic.cngincers with a leprechaun’s sense of humour. Rather their goal is something more grand: to.clean up the rail industry. “The Green Goat is a hybrid turbine electric Jocomotive. Railpower'’s Koldyk says the unit” has the capacity td slash smog-causing NOx (acid rain-inaking nitrogen oxides) drastically. Locomotives are significant sources of pollu- tion in urba) areas that host diesel locomotive activity. oN ; The hybrid: turbine electric locomotive envisioned at Railpower promises to be clean and quiet: The turbine will run at a constant speed to charge the batteries. The company will use standard lead-acid batteries common = to the locomotive industry. The Green Goat will compete against stan- dard diesel-powered yard switching locomo- tives used to assembie trains. > Said Koldyk, “The advantage of this partic- ular switcher is that it is a hybrid. We’re mostly battery-powered and our main internal com- bustion engine is a niicro-turbine. On diesel fuel. which is our first model, we'll have a 90% reduction on NOx. We'll also have a natural gas version available. ” “The reason we want to come out with 2 diesel first is that it has no infrastructure con- cerns and will have very early adoption in the industry. Over time we'll get a 99% reduction in NOx by people using our compressed or liq- uefied natural gas version.” : Donnelly has a patent pending on the Green Goat. The electrical engineer and indus- trial designer is just finishing a carecr at BC Rail; Donnelly participated in a major re-engin- ing program at BC Rail. The company required switcher locomotives. “Tr had a fleet, but the fleet was quite tired ¥ Bi CH and something needed to be done, and BC Rail elected to re-engine the locomotives with Caterpillar engines. I prepared the electrical schematic and worked with Caterpillar to make their package compatible with BC Rail’s 29 old MLW locomotives,” he said. Donnelly has spent much time working * with diesel. “Pm fully aware of how much pollutant a diesel spews. Right now we're hearing more from environmentalists and regulators; they’re tightening up. A switcher Iqcomotive with a turbo-charger and lots of turbo lag is a prob- lem. I’vz been toying with motor power ideas for most of my adult life. We have a solution here and it’s a good one.” . Koldyk said Railpower has established inter- est for the product “with certain port corpora- tions in major cities in California, mostly in the - San Diego and L.A. basin.” In April, Railpower closed a $1.5 million private placement brokered by Goepel McDermid. Fifteen investors participated. The prototype Green Goat will cost about $500,000 US to build. The subscquent ones will cost “substantially Jess,” according to Koldyk. The prototype will be built at Southern Rail” in New Westminster, based on a remanufacture progra The prototype is expected to be available for demonstration in California early next year. Railpower plans to eventuaily build about 40 Green Goats a year. Meanwhile Donnelly has a patent in place for the company’s other major project, the CINGL (compressed integrated natural gas locomotive). Compressed gas is stored right on the locomotive to fuel a large yas turbine gen- erating between 5,000 and 8,000 horsepower on a single locomotive. The engine will be clean, and said Koldyk, “The other advantage is that it is 25% to 37% cheaper over the life cycle of the: locomotive rather than a standard diesel-electric locomo- tive,” He estimates the first CINGL will cost’ See Firm page $ Gibsons resident Conchita Harding, a member of the Coastal Council to BC Ferries, reminded the audience that, regardicss of their concerns over the Nanaimo run, the Sunshine Coast and its economy depend on the existence of the terrie: “Think of your neighbours,” she said. According to Lingwood, a Vancouver Island route won't be planned for at least another 15 years. “We would likely not consider moving all of (the Horseshoe Bay) traffic co a third terminal anyway,” he said. Despite the audience’s reaction, Lingwoud remained stead- fast behind the expansion project. . “At the moment, it hasn’t changed our minds,” he said. k on the expansion project could begin during the sum- Hotel bash WORK crews have begun demolishing the Avalon Hotel on Marine Drive in North Vancouver to make way for a Chapters bookstore and a new brew pub...