Loading ...
Fundamental to not only CdM students, but Newport Beach as a whole, the Balboa Island Ferry has been operating since 1919. The festive red and white boat gets cars, bikes, and pedestrians from the island to the peninsula in less than three minutes for less than two dollars. Quick and affordable, it’s no wonder that more than 1.5 million people take advantage of this ferry every year. It is rich in both nostalgia and history, as it is one of Newport’s oldest businesses. It has been owned and operated by the local Beek family for more than one hundred years. Balboa Island as a whole gives a sense of 1960s nostalgia, and the ferry is no exception. It continues to be at the center of formative childhood memories for many Newport Beach residents, as with CdM junior Lark Walz. “I would take it to Jr. Guards,” she divulges. “It was like the highlight of my summer when I was younger.”
Although beloved by the city of Newport Beach, the Balboa Island Ferry is currently facing a threat that could shut it down. The California Air Resource Board recently announced zero emission regulations requiring all short-run ferries to convert to electric engines by 2025. Even though clean air is an important issue and needs to be addressed, these new restrictions will be almost impossible for the Balboa Ferry to implement. The weight of the new electric engines alone would be too heavy for the ferry to maintain. If the ferry isn’t able to meet these restrictions in the time frame, which is very likely, it will be shut down. Arguably one of the Balboa Island Ferry’s biggest fans, junior Eden Clark ’’think[s] this is ridiculous.’’ She doesn’t “understand why this is happening now.” Many residents share in this sentiment. Some of the main arguments include how Newport Beach already has objectively low air pollution rates, and how the ferry itself produces a very low amount. When asked about the looming possibility of closure, Walz speaks for all of Newport Beach when she expresses her sadness. She just ’’want[s] kids now to have the same memories that [she] did on it.’’ The day this iconic piece of local history is shut down will surely be a sad day for the whole city.
