Beautiful British Columbia will be slightly easier to explore following Tuesday’s B.C. budget.
The BC NDP announced that fares will be frozen on all three major ferry routes between Vancouver Island and the mainland.
This means the previously planned 1.9% fare increase for these routes that was scheduled for early-April will no longer take effect.
There will also be relief for all other non-major routes, with fares reduced by 15%.
Spring is on the way and people in B.C. can get ready to make plans for the camping season with the BC Parks reservation system opening soon.
On Tuesday, the provincial government reaffirmed its predecessor’s plan to create 1,900 new campsites across the province by 2022.
About 375 new campsites were made ready for the start of the 2017 season, and the remainder will gradually open over the next few years following the original five-year timeline of the $23-million project first implemented by the BC Liberals.
A total of $5 million was set aside over the next three years to increase the BC Parks budget to ensure these new campsites receive proper maintenance.
The vast majority of the campsites will be built within high-demand areas of the province, specifically the Lower Mainland, Sea-to-Sky Corridor, Okanagan, Vancouver Island, and the Kootenays.
These campsites are located in either recreational sites or provincial parks, which require infrastructure such as new roads and water and sewer connections for shower and toilet facilities.
In total, B.C.'s provincial parks receive more than 21 million visits each year.
