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Across the border in the [[United States]], [[Bellingham, Washington]] and other communities also lie on the eastern shore. Other settlements on Vancouver Island (such as [[Duncan, British Columbia|Duncan]]) and the mainland are separated from Georgia Strait itself by islands and lesser straits but are often spoken of as being in the Strait of Georgia region.
==GeorgiaVancouver StraitIsland fixed link proposal==
{{main|Vancouver Island fixed link}}
A controversial idea has existed since 1872{{Citation needed|date=August 2008}} of a bridge connecting Vancouver Island to the British Columbia mainland. The first idea was to cross [[Seymour Narrows]] (which is farther north than the end of the Strait of Georgia) at [[Menzies Bay (British Columbia)|Menzies Bay]] with a rail bridge for the then-proposed Canadian Pacific Railway to link Victoria, via Bute Inlet and the Yellowhead Pass, with the rest of Canada. Later proposals have focussed on bridging the Strait of Georgia itself, which is much wider than Seymour Narrows.
A proposed modern road bridge connecting [[Greater Vancouver]] to [[Vancouver Island]] in the manner of the [[Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel]], has been discussed for decades, ever since the commencement of service by BC Ferries. Some crossing design suggestions include a partly floating, partly submerged [[Submerged floating tunnel|tunnel]] to allow ship traffic to move freely. The hurricane-force windstorms of [[1962 Pacific typhoon season#Typhoon Freda|Typhoon Freda]] in 1962 and of December 2006 call into question the safety of such a project.
===Arguments===
Proponents of the bridge argue that a reliable link to Vancouver Island from mainland British Columbia will increase tourism and growth on Vancouver Island. Opponents argue that the construction of a bridge will result in further [[urbanization]] of the island and that the area's environment will be negatively affected by construction and the increase in tourism. Other potential problems are the width and depth of the strait and the soft consistency of the strait floor, as well as high [[seismology|seismic activity]] in the Vancouver Island region, and the fact that the strait is heavily used as a navigation channel. The strait is far deeper than any bridged body of water in the world.{{Citation needed|date=September 2015}}
Former B.C. cabinet minister [[Patrick McGeer|Dr. Patrick McGeer]], a research neuroscientist and a science advocate has repeatedly advanced the proposal in recent decades. In a CKNW<!--CKWX?--> news item broadcast in August 2008, McGeer said he thinks the idea just needs "a visionary politician" to support it. McGeer still has the conceptual model of the bridge that was displayed at [[Expo 86]].{{Failed verification|date=December 2008}} The idea has formal opposition in the form of an [[Islands Trust]] policy banning the building of any bridges or tunnels connecting the Gulf Islands to the Mainland or Vancouver Island.<ref>[http://www.islandstrust.bc.ca/media/342659/01orgpolstatement.pdf Islands Trust Policy Statement], section 5.3.2</ref>
===Feasibility===
Various studies were conducted throughout the 1980s and 1990s to assess the feasibility of constructing a fixed link between [[Vancouver Island]] and the [[Lower Mainland]] across the strait. Proposals varied greatly in length and utilized one or more of the northern [[Gulf Islands]] as an anchorage point. Fixed link designs included a [[bored tunnel]], [[submerged floating tunnel]], [[Pontoon bridge|floating bridge]], and [[cable-stayed bridge]].<ref name=PFL>{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=Potential Fixed Link to Vancouver Island|url=https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/transportation/transportation-reports-and-reference/reports-studies/vancouver-island/fixed-link#:~:text=There%20are%20no%20fixed%20bridges,deep%20with%20a%20rock%20bottom.|url-status=live|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2020-09-22|website=gov.bc.ca}}</ref>
Challenges to establishing a fixed link include the presence of large cargo ships in the area, the depth of the Georgia Strait (up to 365 m deep), the depth of soft sediments found on the ocean bed (up to 450 m thick), potential marine slope instabilities along the eastern side of the strait, extreme wave conditions (4-7 m waves, with 6 m tides and 2-knot current), extreme wind speeds (up to 115 km/h with gusts up to 180 km/h), seasonal fog, snow and ice accumulation on the structure, and the high seismic activity of the region. There are no fixed bridges or tunnels in existence today that would meet these challenging conditions.<ref name=PFL/>
==Salish Sea==
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