BC Ferries says vehicle sailings from the Horseshoe Bay Ferry Terminal to Departure Bay are all full, as of 1 p.m. on Friday.
The organization says people with reservations and foot passengers can still go to the Horseshoe Bay Terminal but anyone without a reservation should stay away.
West Vancouver police are also warning people to stay away as Highway 1 approaching Horseshoe Bay is heavily backed up due to Whistler traffic, along with ferry traffic.
BC Ferries said that the congestion on Highway 1 was compounded by a surge in Whistler-bound traffic and a broken-down commercial vehicle blocking a lane on the Upper Levels.
The organization said that traffic controllers are on-site and a second terminal manager has been brought in to help.
Aaron Krombholz was waiting in the lineup to get on a ferry and said they saw line-ups of cars lined up on the Sea to Sky Highway.
He said they ended up having to leave the ferry terminal on Friday morning after already trying to catch a ferry on Thursday night.
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“We got to the ferry terminal this morning at about 5:45 a.m.,” Krombholz said. “We left at about 8 a.m. when we realized that the 7:55 sailing was full and we weren’t going to get on anything else.”
He added that when they left, cars were backed up on Highway 1 to the Caufield Exit, more than four kilometres away.
“We were chatting with a bunch of different people who were saying ‘look, we have a reservation, but we can’t get there. We can’t get to the gate to pay to go in and get in the queue for their boat’,” Krombholz added.
BC Ferries says travellers should let traffic controllers know if they have a reservation as they may be turned away otherwise.
On Thursday, the organization encouraged customers to plan ahead, particularly those travelling on the busy Horseshoe Bay-Departure Bay and Horseshoe Bay-Langdale routes, and warned that customers without reservations should expect “very limited” standby availability during peak travel days.
Thursday and Friday heading to Vancouver Island and Sunday and Monday returning to the mainland are considered peak travel days.
“We know people are travelling this long weekend to visit family, support local businesses, and enjoy all that this beautiful province has to offer,” Melanie Lucia, vice-president of customer experience at BC Ferries, said in a statement on Thursday.
“British Columbians rely on the ferry system, and we’re doing everything we can to keep them moving. With a little extra planning, there are still ways to travel smoothly and stay connected to the places and people that matter.”
More to come…
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