VW A26 - Sunday, April 17, 1983 - North Shore News Catamaran - type ferry... new era or $46 million gamble? FROM PAGE A11 across the harbor in ap- proximately eight minutes. Each carries 400 passen- gers who enter at the North Van terminal through turn- stiles and six power-operated doors on each side of the vessel. Once the 400th passenger has boarded, the turnstiles automatically lock, the doors close, the four diesel engines put on the power and the ferry leaps forth from the dock, providing a sensation not unlike that of taking off in a jet. 90 SECONDS On arrival at the other side, the vessel docks with just one and a half inches clearance on each side, helped to a stop by hydraulic bumpers similar to those on European trains. The ramps are lowered, the passengers exit on one side and those for the return trip board from the other. The entire unloading and _ reloading process can be carried out in 90 seconds. The terminals are floating “E” shaped structures mov- ing up and down with the tide. At the south end a glass enclosed elevator takes pas- sengers up to a walkway over the CPR tracks and down to the waiting buses on Cor- dova Street outside the CPR Station. The manoeuvrability of the ferry is dramatic and reassuring, given the busy traffic of the inner harbor ranging all the way from IKE NAKAYAMA massive freighters to float planes. In the control centre on top of the vessel the captain determines both speed and direction with two levers. The ferry can travel in either direction and also move sideways like a crab. It can turn completely, round or stop in its own length. B.C. Hydro, which will run the system, has meanwhile carried out a Major expansion of feeder bus services, with 12 new routes set up in North Vancouver and augmented routes on the south side. And the price seems right, too. A single 35¢ transfer ticket will take you from any pick-up point in North Vancouver, across the water and, with one or more other transfers, to your downtown destination. ECONOMICS ATTRACTIVE With current downtown parking costs and gasoline around 90¢ a gallon the economics of the proposition are as attractive as the technology. The “but” questions, however, © still remain, and they centre around three factors: time, convenience and weather. First, time. Service will be every 15 minutes during rush hours, moving 1,600 passen- gers an hour. Add to that (if you just miss one sailing) the time taken to get by bus from your hillside home to the terminal, a two or three- minute walk from the bus to the dock, a slightly longer walk to the bus on the south side — plus the eight or nine- minute crossing itself — and it could take passengers from the more distant resi- dential areas of North Van at least an hour to reach Cordova Street. Then there's still the further bus ride, possibly with another transfer, to your destination. Under normal rush-hour traffic conditions the journey by car _ from Capilano Highlands to Georgia and _ Burrard probably takes no more than 30-40 minutes, sometimes less. In terms of time the 10 YEAR ANNIVERSARY Cae D5 See e KIRSCH ¢ ABBEY ¢ SUPERIOR for - 1”’ venetian blinds - woven woods - vertical louvres - verosol blinds New line of shears in stock at Introductory Prices Also - In Home Service Sale ends April 30/83 CLOSED MONDAYS MON—SAT 9:30-5:30 LONSDALE / 4 AND INTERIORS DATSUN MAZDA SE E If you own a Japanese auto let our factory trained technicians keep it in good condition throughout the year Call ike for appointment 986-5375 TAK SAWADA HONDA SPECIALIST Japanese Auto Specialists see @ te bette le gated . SPRING SPECIAL Ou Fates Change lube $16.95 (heck Cooting Sys & Ant freeze (Check Battery Starting & CoMargung foys (Parts ba hace Chit up ta 4% TUNE UP SPECIAL $49.95 Haergoheac e Mroents Coc Phage Fast b dter C trek ge foe Sys Belts Cart. Moses Varnes, A brmessice Cont ‘sw Ope A A ‘oytsi Warts ave ached «yl Hotary eatray THIS OFFER ALSO APPLIES TO.) DATSUN, TOYOTA, MAZDA AND SUBARU > WE ALSO SERVICE DOMESTIC CARS — LB. AUTO | 189: Ww. “16th Bt, N.Van, tone bik: youth al Marine/ott Pernbvertan) . 986-5375 Lonsdale Rentals 1113 Lonsdale 985-932) va raevy Thatch Is an accumulation of a dense mat of undecomposed roots stems and grass « tppings between the soll surtace and the visible green vegetation Its often several inches thek and it chockes your grass off from the things that make 1 grow Save Time, Money and Work Power Combes do a tar better job than a hand rake could do Wn a fraction of the time withoul back breaking work A Power Comt rolls easily over your lawn white you meroly guide it present bus service over the bridge is as good or better. Commuters who need their cars at work are ob- viously not prospects for the new ferries in any case. For the hardy souls who like to keep in good physical shape some of these disad- vantages might be outweigh- ed if it were possible to take a bicycle across on the ferry. 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