View source for Swartz Bay ferry terminal

{{Short description|Ferry terminal in British Columbia, Canada}}
{{Infobox station
| name               = Swartz Bay
| type               = Ferry terminal
| image              = Swartz Bay Ferry Terminal 2018.jpg
| address            = 11300 [[British Columbia Highway 17|Patricia Bay Highway]]
| borough            = [[Sidney, British Columbia|Sidney]], British Columbia
| country            = Canada
| coordinates        = {{Coord|48.688184|N|123.4101963|W|}}
| line               = Route 1–[[Tsawwassen ferry terminal|Tsawwassen]]<br />Route 4–[[Fulford Harbour]]<br />Route 5–Southern [[Gulf Islands]]
| bus_routes         = 5
| connections        = {{Collapsible list
  |framestyle=border:none; padding:0; <!--Hides borders and improves row spacing-->
  |title={{rail-interchange|bc|bctransit|size=28}} [[Victoria Regional Transit System#Routes|Victoria Regional]] 
| 1= {{RouteBox|70||#4CB648|white}} [[Downtown Victoria|Downtown]] Express
| 2= {{RouteBox|71||#4CB648|white}} Downtown <small>via West Sidney</small>
| 3= {{RouteBox|72||#4CB648|white}} Downtown <small>via Fifth</small>
| 4= {{RouteBox|76||#4CB648|white}} [[University of Victoria|UVic]]
| 5= {{RouteBox|81||#4CB648|white}} [[Brentwood Bay, British Columbia|Brentwood]]
}}
| operator           = BC Ferries
| parking            = 172 short-term spaces<br />544 long-term spaces
| website            = {{official URL}}
| opened             = June 15, 1960
| original           = Gulf Islands Ferry Company
| years              = 1961
| events             = Acquired by BC Ferries
| accessible         = yes
| code               = SWB<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Plans, Reports, Policies and Other Resources |url=https://www.bcferries.com/in-the-community/resources |access-date=2023-08-22 |website=[[BC Ferries]] |language=en }}</ref>
| owned              = [[BC Ferries]]
| passengers         = 3&nbsp;780&nbsp;567{{r|g=Note|Stats}}
| pass_year          = 2024
| pass_percent       = 2.06
}}

'''Swartz Bay''' is a {{convert|22.7|ha|acre|abbr=on|adj=mid|sigfig=3}}<ref>{{cite web |last1=Terminal Development |last2=BC Ferries Inc. |last3=Stantec Consulting Ltd. |date=April 2019 |title=Swartz Bay Terminal Development Plan (TDP) |url=https://www.bcferries.com/web_image/h00/hcd/8798766891038.pdf |access-date=3 December 2023 |website=[[BC Ferries]] |publisher= |page=12}}</ref> ferry terminal and a major transportation facility at [[Swartz Bay]] in [[North Saanich]], British Columbia.<!-- Is it in North Saanich or Sidney? --> It is located {{convert|32|km|mi|abbr=on}} north of [[Victoria, British Columbia|Victoria]] on [[Vancouver Island]]. The terminal is part of the [[BC Ferries]] system, as well as part of [[British Columbia Highway 17|Highway 17]].

==History==
In 1889, former British Columbia premier [[Amor De Cosmos]] was the first person who is known to have suggested Swartz Bay publicly as a feasible ferry terminal for connections to the [[Lower Mainland]]. In 1959, the search for a new ferry terminal north of Victoria involved consideration of the existing [[San Juan Islands]] ferry facilities at [[Sidney, British Columbia|Sidney]]. Insufficiently-sheltered waters and added travel time, leading to higher fuel costs, precluded Sidney from being selected.<ref name="Bannerman">{{Cite book |last1=Bannerman |first1=Gary |title=The Ships of British Columbia |last2=Bannerman |first2=Patricia |publisher=Hancock House Publishers Ltd |year=1985 |author-link=Gary Bannerman}}</ref>{{Citation page|pages=36, 55, 67, 69, 105}}

A small private ferry dock operated by the Gulf Islands Ferry Company already existed at Swartz Bay when the choice was made to locate the BC Ferry Corporation terminal there.<ref name="Bannerman" />{{Citation page|page=55}} As a result of the decision, a paved extension of the [[Patricia Bay Highway]] to reach the terminal was undertaken.

The first scheduled sailing from the terminal, described as a "mudhole" because of the continuing construction, occurred on June 15, 1960.<ref name="Bannerman" />{{Citation page|page=67}} On September 1, 1961, the company that built and used the smaller original dock at Swartz Bay was bought out by BC Ferries.

In the [[SENĆOŦEN]] language spoken by Indigenous [[W̱SÁNEĆ]] people of the area, the bay's name is ŚJEL¸KES.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://itservices.cas.unt.edu/~montler/saanich/wordlist/placenames.html|title=SENĆOŦEN Word List: Place names|website=itservices.cas.unt.edu}}</ref>

==Accidents and incidents==
A fire, caused by a [[cutting torch]], led to $500,000 worth of damage to the terminal in December 1981. It destroyed part of the passenger walkway and a wingwall, prior to being contained by terminal staff, firefighters and the approaching ''[[Queen of Nanaimo]]'', which utilized its hoses to help keep the blaze at bay.<ref name="Bannerman" />{{Citation page|page=67}}

Residents have expressed noise concerns over the years, and the matter has been raised in the [[Legislative Assembly of British Columbia|Legislative Assembly]].<ref>{{cite Hansard|title=Estimates: Ministry of Labour|jurisdiction=[[Parliament of British Columbia]]|house=[[Legislative Assembly of British Columbia]]|date=6 July 2000|volume=20|url=https://www.leg.bc.ca/documents-data/debate-transcripts/36th-parliament/4th-session/20000706am-Hansard-v20n23|speaker=[[Joy MacPhail]]|position=Minister of Labour|page=17147|access-date=March 25, 2007|archive-date=May 10, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070510075423/http://www.leg.bc.ca/hansard/36th4th/H00706a.HTM#17147|url-status=live}}</ref> Concerns have also been expressed ranging from terminal expansion to the shooting of pigeons by ferry staff.<ref>{{cite Hansard|title=Shooting of Birds at Swartz Bay Ferry Terminal|jurisdiction=[[Parliament of British Columbia]]|house=[[Legislative Assembly of British Columbia]]|date=17 April 2000|volume=18|url=https://www.leg.bc.ca/documents-data/debate-transcripts/36th-parliament/4th-session/20000417pm-Hansard-v18n23|speaker=Joan Sawicki|position=Minister of Environments, Lands, and Parks of British Columbia|page=15009}}</ref>

On September 14, 2000, the ferry ''[[Spirit of Vancouver Island]]'' struck a pleasure craft just off Swartz Bay, killing two individuals.<ref>{{cite news |date=September 14, 2000 |title=Fatal ferry accident. |work=[[CBC News]] |publisher=[[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation]] |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/fatal-ferry-accident-1.200149 |access-date=March 25, 2007 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121023170012/http://www.cbc.ca/news/story/2000/09/14/bc_accident000914.html |archive-date=October 23, 2012}}</ref>

On May 20, 2011, a truck waiting in line drove up the upper ramp of the terminal's first berth and then through several guard barriers and safety netting at an increased speed. The truck then proceeded to drive off the end of the berth at a high speed and into the water.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2011-05-20 |title=Truck plunges off Victoria ferry terminal |website=[[CTV News]] |publisher=[[Bell Media]] |url=https://www.ctvnews.ca/body-found-after-truck-drives-off-victoria-ferry-terminal-1.646985 |access-date=2019-01-31}}</ref> Later the same day, divers located the truck and deceased driver in the water off the end of the berth, identifying him later that week.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2011-05-20 |title=Divers pull body from submerged truck at Swartz Bay |website=[[CTV News]] |publisher=[[Bell Media]] |url=https://bc.ctvnews.ca/divers-pull-body-from-submerged-truck-at-swartz-bay-1.646892 |access-date=2019-01-31}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=2011-05-24 |title=Driver in fatal ferry terminal plunge identified |website=[[CTV News]] |publisher=[[Bell Media]] |url=https://bc.ctvnews.ca/driver-in-fatal-ferry-terminal-plunge-identified-1.648130 |access-date=2019-01-31}}</ref>

==Ferry facilities and connections==
Currently, there are five ferry [[Berth (moorings)|berth]]s at the Swartz Bay ferry terminal. Completed in 2006, the Swartz Bay Berth 2 project involved the replacement of the old marine structures and counter-weighted ramp lift system with a $25 million state-of-the-art floating berth.<ref>{{cite web |title=Capital Plan – Fiscal Years 2015 through 2026 |publisher=British Columbia Ferry Commission |url=https://www.bcferrycommission.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/2014-09-30_12-year-capital-plan-to-Commissioner.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304073324/https://www.bcferrycommission.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/2014-09-30_12-year-capital-plan-to-Commissioner.pdf |archive-date=March 4, 2016 |page=6}}</ref> The terminal provides BC Ferries service to the [[Tsawwassen ferry terminal]] on the mainland, as well as all the major southern [[Gulf Islands]]. In the mid-1990s, a major terminal renovation was undertaken. The [[Seaspan ULC#Seaspan Ferries Corporation|Seaspan Ferries Corporation]] also has a terminal here.

The terminal includes an administration building, and various kiosks run by local artisans and other vendors mainly in the warmer months. There is also a cafeteria and coffee shop in the main building.

The terminal is served by several [[Victoria Regional Transit System]] public transit routes, with Route 70 providing express bus service to and from downtown Victoria in about an hour. Short and long-term pay parking is run by a private operator under contract to BC Ferries. The terminal is located about 10 minutes from [[Victoria International Airport]] via [[British Columbia Highway 17|Highway 17]]. The {{convert|29|km|mi|adj=on}} [[Lochside Regional Trail]] also runs south from Swartz Bay to Victoria.

Swartz Bay is the only major southern terminal in the BC Ferries system without a traffic signal at its entrance or exit.

== Gallery ==
<gallery class="center" widths="250" heights="160">
BC_Ferry_docking.jpg|Aerial view of Swartz Bay ferry terminal
File:CoastalCelebrationSwartzBay.jpg|[[BC Ferries]]' [[MV Coastal Celebration]] docked at Swartz Bay terminal in May 2014
File:Ship "Seaspan Reliant" in Swartz Bay BC Ferries Terminal, British Columbia, Canada 01.jpg|"Seaspan Reliant" at the Swartz Bay ferry terminal on 13 July 2018
File:Swartz Bay Ferry Terminal view2 2018.jpg|Parking area
File:Swartz Bay Ferry Terminal Lands End Café 2018.jpg|Lands End Café
</gallery>

== Notes ==
{{reflist|group="Note"|refs=
{{r|g=Note|Stats|r=Figures obtained for 2023 & 2024 from adding the passengers counted at Swartz Bay from the routes 1, 4, and 5 in each month of the [[calendar year]].<ref name=":0" /> The figures under "Total Prev Year" are not used because those denote [[fiscal year]]s instead of calendar years. The total passenger count at Swartz Bay for 2023 is 3&nbsp;704&nbsp;227.}}
}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{BC Ferries |state=expanded}}

{{Commons category|Swartz Bay ferry terminal}}

[[Category:BC Ferries terminals]]
[[Category:Transport in the Capital Regional District]]