NORTH SHORE NE WS ANALYSIS Port Moody ferry service opening up Burrard Inlet LAST WEEK this column pre- sented a proposal put forward by a West Vancouver resident to extend seabus service to a new Lions Gate terminal. By Kevin Gillies Contributing Writer Ken Higgs suggested that with a bus loop located at the terminal, buses would net be needed to com. mute over the Lions Gate bridge and could beticr serve the Nerth Shore's transit needs, One could take his suggestion a step further and put a new scabus terminal at the north end of the Second Narrows bridge. The area east of the Seymour River is the fastest-growing area of the North Shore. Once it has reached its potential density, it will need drastic increases in transit ser- vice to downtown Vancouver. Ferries have been the dominant transportation issue this week. On Monday morning, com- muters from the far-off communi- ties of Port Moody, Coquitlam, and Port Coquitlam were presented ihe opportunity of trying the first pri- vate. sector, inner-harbor ferry ser- vice in many years. For a $4.50 fare, commuters rode into the seabus terminal in Vancouver while Teading, working or simply watch- . ing the sun. : Anyone on the North Shore who uses the Seabus with any regularity can tell you that there is a romantic side to reading your paper or novel and sipping your coffee while snoweapped mountains fill your windshield as you Goat your way to work, Generally. ferry services are very reliable. Due to an unexpected incoming tide. the Vancouver was 20 minutes late on its maiden voyage from Port Moody's Rocky Point Marina, but glitches were expected in the begin- ning. Nonetheless. ferry service on Burrard Inlev is an idea whose time has come. Considering the freedom and relaxation it provides commuters. while reducing congestion and air pollution, the ferry service couldn't have arrived sooner. Also, the BC Ferry Corporation announced that their ferries carried more than 21 million passengers in 1993 for the first time in ils history. Their vessels carried 21,159,973 passengers and 8.257.046 vehicles: increases of 1.8% and 3.8% respee- tively. The Horseshoe Bay to Nanaimo route was their second-busiest (after Tsawwassen ta Swartz Bay) having carried 3.445.041 passen- gers and 1,279,779 vehicles. Those numbers represent an increase of 4.6% and 1.6% respectively when compared with 1992, SIPS bag acts as side padding | in the event of side collision Fr om page 25 door and your upper.arm. Since it is designed to work in conjunction with Volvo's Side Impact Protection System. it's called the SIPS bag. It basically acts as a side padding during a side collision, and it significantly reduces the level of force transmit- ted to the chest area, which in turn minimizes the risk of head injurics. Most car companies have included side airbags in their proto- type models in the past, but Volvo will be the first automaker to make ‘this life-saving device available to the market so soon, “Starting in the [995 model year, the SIPS bag will be standard On some models, and optional on others.” said Ken Barratt. spokesman for Valvo Canada. Even as an option, the side airbag is expected to cost no more than $400 — a bargain when you consider what it can do for you in an accident, While other auto mantifacturers are developing side airbags that are attached ta the doar, Volvo decided to mount its system in the seat fora number of reasons, According to Volvo, the seat- attached airbag ts simpler in design. and doesn’t sulfer from the added complications of a door-mounted airbag system. Also, Volvo at-mMounted sys- tem is better protected because it _ cut be damaged by a kick in the door, which could cause a problem for a door-mounted airbag system. Finally, the SIPS bag offers Nexibility because the airbag-in- seat system can be engineered inte other models faster and easier than the airbag-in-door systems, —— The U.S. government's new stringent side-impact crush stan- dard. which will take effect in the 1997 model year. will force car companies to consider systems such as this (o meet the new’ requirements. Like other airbags, it's only a matter of time before this valuable safety system becomes ava tilable in many cars in the future some automakers may decide to engineer other solutions to meet future side-impact standards. But until others jump on the bandwagon. Volvo i is making it clear that it won" take a back seat to anyone when it comes to safety. V6 ENGINE AUTOMATIC AIR BAG Pride of British Pacific Properties big g winners THE VOTES have been counted and the winners anbounced for (his year’s Christmas Tree deco- railing contest at Peppi’s Annual Festival of Lights, fh was aclose race, but British Pacific Properties, with 2467 of the vote. edged oul Nexus Realty Corporation (with 22% of the vate) for the S200 gift certificate first prize. Third place went to Re/Max Masters Reality while Cs press Mountain Sports, BOR Properties Lid. and Animal Medical Hos- pital received honorable men- tions, Proceeds raised through the Christmas tree ballot contest were given to the Lions Gate Hospital Foundation. According to Klaus Fuerniss. owner of Peppi’s Restaurant, the third annual Festival of Lights event was a grand success, with community support continuing to build cach year. New Toyotas From Under *9.000 New Toyota Paseo from $13,995 ° BANK FINANCING oac. ANTILOCK BRAKES AIR CONDITIONING eee CHEVY'S CASSETTE AND MORE! 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