April Engelberg describes herself as passionate about city issues, even running for a seat on city council in 2022. She lives in Spadina-Fort York and posted a photo, sent to her by a friend, to X on Saturday showing lineups for the ferry to the Toronto Islands slinking around the corner and down the street around the Westin Hotel.
It’s not uncommon at the terminal these days, says Engelberg, one of those advocating for a bridge to be built to the islands.
“With the proposed bridge location, you could actually bike to the islands in less time when it takes just to wait for the ferry,” she explained.
“So on a good day, the ferries aren’t enough, they cannot meet demand. They can’t meet the demand of how many people want to get from here to the Toronto Island, it doesn’t work. But on top of it, we know that two out of our five ferries aren’t working right now.”
City staff say the extra ferries they ordinarily use for surge demand are unavailable because they are currently undergoing repairs. That leaves the Ongiara, which holds 220 passengers per trip, the Sam McBride, which holds 915 passengers, and the William Inglis, which holds 399 passengers per trip, shouldering the load and operating at full capacity.
Mayor Olivia Chow acknowledged the long lineups, saying hefty delays in the arrival of new ferries have become part of the problem.
“Those two ferries that were just ordered, they were supposed to be ordered since 2017 and year after year they’ve been deferred and delayed,” she said. “Finally two weeks ago City Council approved it, we are now full steam ahead on those new ferries, but they were seriously delayed, and that’s unfortunate.”
Chow also confirmed that earlier this year council did give the green light to explore the feasibility of a bridge, a process she says is still in the beginning stages.
“We’re just determining how much it would cost, there’s no decision yet.”
In the meantime, the advice across the board seems to be to come prepared for a long wait, and if possible, try and make the trip at off-peak times.