Duke Point ferry terminal

{{Short description|Ferry terminal in British Columbia, Canada}}

{{Infobox station

| name = Duke Point

| type = Ferry terminal

| image = Duke Point ferry terminal.jpg

| image_caption = Aerial view of the Duke Point ferry terminal

| address = 400 Duke Point Highway

| borough = Nanaimo, British Columbia

| country = Canada

| coordinates = {{Coord|49.1620032|N|123.8941355|W|}}

| line = Route 30–Tsawwassen

| operator = BC Ferries

| website = {{official URL}}

| opened = 9 June 1997

| passengers = 1 054 400{{r|g=Note|Stats}}

| pass_year = 2024

| pass_percent = 3.90

| parking = {{plainlist|

• 78 short-term spaces
• 194 long-term spaces

}}

| accessible = yes

| code = DUKE{{Cite web |title=Plans, Reports, Policies and Other Resources |url=https://www.bcferries.com/in-the-community/resources |access-date=2023-08-22 |website=Connecting the Coast |publisher=BC Ferries}}

| owned = BC Ferries

}}

Duke Point is a major ferry terminal owned and operated by BC Ferries that provides ferry service across the Strait of Georgia to Tsawwassen. The ferry terminal is located at Duke Point in Nanaimo and is the only major terminal in the BC Ferries system without a public transit connection.{{Cite web|url=http://bctransit.com/regions/nan/schedules/map.cfm?p=side®ion=10&|title=Nanaimo Regional Transit System map|access-date=2016-11-06|archive-date=2009-09-07|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090907072444/http://www.bctransit.com/regions/nan/schedules/map.cfm?p=side®ion=10&|url-status=dead}}

The terminal was built in 1997 for $42 million (equivalent to $67.88 million in 2022) to divert commercial vehicle traffic away from BC Ferries' other main Nanaimo terminal in the heart of the city, thus easing traffic jams through Nanaimo's city centre. It was officially opened on 9 June 1997 by Premier Glen Clark and saw its first sailings the following day.{{cite news |date=7 December 2008 |title=Duke Point Terminal Now Open |work=Times Colonist |url=https://www.proquest.com/pagelevelimagepdf/2265229572/Record/FE95B6165224C40PQ/9? |via=ProQuest}} It has one berth, but was built to be easily expanded to have two additional berths in the future, as well as an additional 500 parking spaces, should demand require.{{Cite web |date=June 1997 |title=Photobucket |url=https://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l291/ferryman_2006/Forum/File0007.jpg}}

In 2013, 42 percent of passengers travelling from Nanaimo to the mainland went through Duke Point.{{Cite news |last=Seyd |first=Jane |date=March 16, 2014 |title=West Vancouver merchants worried over future ferry plans |url=https://www.nsnews.com/local-news/west-vancouver-merchants-worried-over-future-ferry-plans-2973291 |website=North Shore News |publisher=Glacier Media}}

The ferry terminal marks the southern terminus of Highway 19, which connects the terminal to the Trans-Canada Highway just south of Nanaimo's city centre via the Duke Point Highway. The highway cost $50 million (equivalent to 80.81 million in 2022) to build.