What Can I Do about overtourism?
Fair Sailing has been asked what productive actions can be taken by residents to address cruise tourism impacts in James Bay. Here is what’ve learned:
· Every voice counts! Our strength is in numbers.
· All levels of government are aware of cruise tourism impacts and have taken some actions – but not enough! Add your voice to the collective chorus of concerned citizens.
· Address your emails/letters to elected officials – they will refer your submission for response by staff who are working on the issue you’re concerned about.
· Our suggestions focus on what you can do NOW. We’ll have additional suggestions for targeted letters and emails as we learn more.
Problem: Overtourism (crowding, traffic, nuisances)
Cruise passengers overwhelm James Bay with unlimited arrivals on increasingly larger ships carrying more passengers. The majority of stops are brief calls scheduled for the evening to comply with an American law and are for the convenience of cruise lines, not passengers or local Victoria businesses. With compressed schedules, dictated by cruise lines, that bunch multiple large ship arrivals within a 90-minute period, residential streets are overwhelmed with passengers, taxis, and human-powered transport racing to visit Victoria in just a few nighttime hours.
In addition to noise, and nuisances like emissions, residents note increasing traffic is a major concern. Taxis, shuttle & tour buses, pedicabs/rickshaws, and horse carriages all compete with residents and non-cruise visitors for road space. Cruise ship shuttles (now parking on Government Street) impact an important local pedestrianized area to benefit only cruise tourists at the expense of local residents and stay-over tourists. Garbage trucks, tanker trucks are also a frequent presence in traffic. See our FAQs for more information on the problem of cruise-caused overtourism.
Our Solution:
· Daily ship and passenger limits
· Staggered arrivals and departures
· Quiet Hours: ships arrive after 7:30 am and depart by 10 pm
· Schedule cruise calls to provide community with cruise-free days
· Smaller buses, speed enforcement, code of conduct
What You Can Do NOW
Ask the GVHA to set ship/passenger limits and implement cruise ship schedules that reduce overcrowding, respect quiet hours, and provide for cruise-free days.
Ask the City of Victoria to address uses at Ogden Point that are noxious and offensive to the immediate neighbourhood, including odours and smoke, and potential hazards to residents’ health and the environment.
· Write to the GVHA Board at communications@gvha.ca
· Copy the member organizations with elected members on the GVHA Board:
o City of Victoria: councillors@victoria.bc.ca
o CRD: crdboard@crd.bc.ca with copy to the CRD Chair CRD Chair Cliff McNeil-Smith @ cmcneilsmith@crd.bc.ca
o Township of Esquimalt: council@esquimalt.ca
Background
Overtourism impacts include crowding, traffic congestion and nuisances like noise, light and odours. Overtourism can be addressed by the Greater Victoria Harbour Authority (GVHA) and the City of Victoria.
The Greater Victoria Harbour Authority (GVHA) is a non-profit society that owns the land at Ogden Point where the cruise ship terminal is located. The land is within the City of Victoria which controls the zoning activities on the land.
The GVHA is governed by a Board of directors representing eight member agencies in addition to four independent directors. The GVHA, as landlord, can impose regulations and policies, such as ship/passenger limits and scheduling (including arrival/departure times, quiet hours and cruise free days. The GVHA also has agreements with some businesses that operate on their land, including taxi companies, and they could implement speed requirements/tracking and codes of conduct for transporting cruise passengers, with a complaint process for residents.
The cruise ship terminal at Ogden Point currently falls under the City of Victoria’s M-2 Zoning. Permitted uses for Ogden Point include docks, wharves and piers, provided they are not noxious or offensive to the immediate neighbourhood or the general public by reason of emitting odours, dust, smoke, gas, noise, effluent or hazard.