170 people packed the Union Club ballroom to begin the dialogue on Island-wide intermodal transportation yesterday…

In the minds of many, the #1 barrier to a vibrant, growing, competitive and sustainable Island economy is transportation. Cost, reliability, frequency, efficiency, connectivity continue as critical issues getting people, goods and materials to, from and around Vancouver Island.

What will it take to turn this historic and persistent liability into a strategic advantage? Must we continue to accept our geography as a disadvantage or can we employ ingenuity and collaboration to invent solutions and reposition Vancouver Island as a convenient and cost-effective destination for business investment?

These and many other questions were raised amongst stakeholders attending from all over Vancouver Island and in the process initiating an open conversation about how we can all work together to transform transportation, improve our economy, reduce environmental impact, and increase accessibility to move people and goods more efficiently and more cost-effectively throughout the region.

THIS EVENT WAS SOLD OUT.

To ensure that the dialogue can continue beyond a single luncheon presentation, VIEA, with sponsorship from Nanaimo Airport and Nanaimo Port Authority, produced a 13-minute video briefly outlining ideas, challenges, opportunities and initiatives of 16 key transportation stakeholders: Nanaimo Airport, Nanaimo Port Authority,Greater Victoria Harbour Authority, ColdStar Solutions, Comox Airport, Tofino Airport, Southern Rail, Port Alberni Port Authority, Blackball Ferries, Island Ferries, BC Transit, Alberni-Clayoquot Regional District, Harbour Air,Tourism Victoria, Wilson’s Transportation, and Tourism Victoria.

To view the video presentation click HERE. And please share with your friends, neighbours, children, their children, their children’s friends, aunts and uncles–you get the drift… We want anyone interested to see a bit of what’s going on.

Who Was There?

• 87 from Greater Victoria / 83 from Duncan to Campbell River;
• 63 Women / 107 Men ;
• 39 representing the 16 transportation stakeholders;
• 23 elected officials from Cumberland to Tofino, from Port Alberni to Esquimalt;
• 9 government staff representing Jobs, Transportation, and International Trade ;
• 4 representing 3 First Nations;
• 95 from corporations, small businesses, universities and professional/business associations.

This session and continuing dialogue is an extension of VIEA’s annual ‘State of the Island’ Economic Summitand a furtherance of VIEA’s continuing work with transportation stakeholders to develop a bold, comprehensive intermodal transportation plan. Early Bird Registration for the Summit opened March 31.