SRO ferries

It was standing room only on the harbour ferries this morning when a climate change protest, spearheaded by Extinction Rebellion forced the closure of the Angus L. Macdonald bridge to cars, bicycles and pedestrians. Foreseeing long waits at the other bridge, many commuters opted to use  the ferries.

The Alderney Landing (Dartmouth) to Halifax ferry route was the most heavily impacted with long lineups, and delays for those with bicycles.

The two boats on the run, Viola Desmond and Vincent Coleman were reported to be loaded to capacity at times but managed to keep close to the 15 minute schedule.

Commuters expecting to find more room on the Woodside to Halifax ferry run may have encountered some inconvenience too since it was reported on CBC News that the escalators in the Woodside terminal building were out  of service. Rita Joe and Craig Blake were holding down that run. The fifth ferry in the system, Christopher Stannix has been in Lunenburg for refit since September 26 and could not be brought back into service to meet demand.

Protest organizers gave lots of warning and police stepped in to bar access to the bridge to commuters and protesters. Halifax Transit was able to re-arrange bus re-routes via the A. Murray MacKay bridge, but traffic was chaotic nonetheless. Duration of the closure has not been determined.

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