Port Metro Vancouver (PMV) has issued a transportation alert, noting higher-than-usual vehicle traffic volumes and increased demand for taxis and public transit in the downtown core, thanks to cruise ship traffic this weekend.
Cruise ship volumes at Canada Place and Ballantyne Cruise Terminal are expected to reach 19,000 embarking and disembarking passengers between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. Saturday May 14.
Those passenger volumes will be generated by four cruise ships:
- the Norwegian Star, 2,240 passengers;
- the Golden Princess, 2,600 passengers;
- the Zuiderdam, 1,848 passengers; and
- the Sapphire Princess, 2,670 passengers.
PMV cruise manager Carmen Ortega said this is twice the volume of cruise passengers that would tend to be in town, and noted that the spikes happen just two days a year: one in the spring and one in the fall.
Saturday’s spike, she said, is caused by cruise ships repositioning themselves for northern cruises.
“This is when all the ships that are in the warmer climates during the winter – Mexico, Hawaii – will reposition up to the Alaska market,” she said.
Ortega added that the second spike this year will occur September 25.
She noted PMV schedules ahead of time and does a lot of planning to prepare for these passenger spikes.
“We typically always present to the Vancouver Taxi Roundtable just to give the taxi companies a heads-up and they’re very proactive.”
PMV is advising people going to the terminals to make transportation arrangements in advance. It’s also asking that arriving passengers not show up at Canada Place or Ballantyne cruise terminals prior to their embarkation time, to avoid adding to congestion.
Jenny Wagler