Post by EGfleet on May 18, 2007 5:41:14 GMT -8
State Ferries takes new tack on Port Townsend-Keystone route
Jeff Chew, Peninsula Daily News
PORT TOWNSEND - Washington State Ferries is now planning smaller vessels for the Port Townsend-Keystone run and to keep the Keystone terminal on Whidbey Island at its existing location, Mike Anderson, State Ferries executive director, said Wednesday.
"That will mean we will look at vessels of 100 cars or less," Anderson said in a phone interview after he announced the change of course to Port Townsend Ferry Advisory Committee members at the Pope Marine Building downtown.
More than a year ago, Ferries officials proposed fewer runs with larger ferries carrying between 124 and 144 cars and a Port Townsend terminal that would extend 180 feet into Port Townsend Bay for 70 additional holding spaces on the dock.
Anderson said Wednesday that the new tack was in great part the result of public comments from both sides of the ferry run.
The change aims at establishing vessels that will carry between 60 and 100 vehicles, but which are no smaller than the 80-year-old Steel Electric vessels now in use.
The vessels are the oldest ferries in the world, State Ferries officials say.
More runs
The idea is to have more ferry runs, possibly using three vessels in the future, if community members approve, said Anderson.
This would stem the stream of traffic that flows from ferries at peak periods, backing up on Sims Way, Port Townsend's main state Highway 20 entrance.
Anderson said the new approach will also consider the ferry route as a whole rather than separately looking at Port Townsend and Keystone facilities.
The idea has some risks, said Anderson.
"If for any reason that the (Steel Electric) class was not allowed to operate, then we would not have another boat to operate up there," Anderson said.
"So that is the risk."
This could happen if the Coast Guard declined safety certification for any of the four Steel Electrics.
Aging ferries
The ferry system planning and expansion delay could also mean the aging ferries may not be replaced for years to come.
"The scary thing is, given the planning process, it is unlikely we will see any new vessel for at least 10 years out," said Tim Caldwell, Port Townsend Chamber of Commerce general manager and a Port Townsend Ferry Advisory Committee member.
Caldwell has long been active in attempts to establish passenger ferry service between Port Townsend, Port Ludlow and Seattle.
"That means we could run the Steel Electrics until they are 90 years old," he said.
"We will have to come up with new money to replace them with new boats on this route."
The new direction comes after Gov. Chris Gregoire on Tuesday signed legislation, House Bill 2358, which essentially puts statewide ferry expansion efforts on hold.
The two-year $7.4 billion state transportation budget proposal delays $36 million that was earmarked for Port Townsend ferry terminal expansion.
HB 2358 states that the Legislature finds from the 2006 Washington State Ferries financing study that the state has limited information on state ferry users and markets.
Such information is vital for finding ways to maximize the ferry system's current capacity and to make efficient use of tax dollars, the legislation said.
The delay in funding ferry system expansion is intended to allow the State Ferries system to regroup and come up with something other than a one-size-fits-all ferry plan that includes the Port Townsend-Keystone route.
The legislation provides for $1 million to go toward new Port Townsend-Keystone ferry run planning efforts.
Anderson said he hoped the new approach would allow the ferry system to go to more maneuverable and smaller vessels.
It will certainly allow new vessel analysis before a viable option is placed on the table.
"You gotta make a decision that is flexible enough to go to the long term," said Anderson.
Asked if expansion of Port Townsend's ferry terminal could still happen, Anderson said, "That decision is not to be made today."
Win for community
Deputy Mayor Michelle Sandoval - a driving City Council force behind the ferry financing legislation through Rep. Lynn Kessler, D-Hoquiam, and Sen. Mary Margaret Haugen, D-Camano Island - said after the announcement:
"I think the biggest win for our community is the acknowledgment that a boat for 100 cars or less would be at the bookends" of the Port Townsend-Keystone runs.
"We feel that we were instrumental in getting that legislation passed," Sandoval said of HB 2358.
She said she was also pleased with the partnership Port Townsend has with Keystone under the new approach, rather than the two operating as separate entities on either side of Admiralty Inlet.
Sandoval said another state ferries decision is that an environmental impact statement would be done for Port Townsend.
"I was not very happy that they determined that Whidbey would have an EIS, but not on this side," Sandoval said.
"Now they are saying it is going to be determined as a significant project, and that we are going to offset significant impact on this side."
Sandoval also said she hoped the ferry system would "look at operations in general, a systemic look, including the reservations system."
A pilot ferry reservation system, which Sandoval helped push through state Transportation Commission approval, is expected to be launched at the Port Townsend terminal in about a year.
Jeff Chew, Peninsula Daily News
PORT TOWNSEND - Washington State Ferries is now planning smaller vessels for the Port Townsend-Keystone run and to keep the Keystone terminal on Whidbey Island at its existing location, Mike Anderson, State Ferries executive director, said Wednesday.
"That will mean we will look at vessels of 100 cars or less," Anderson said in a phone interview after he announced the change of course to Port Townsend Ferry Advisory Committee members at the Pope Marine Building downtown.
More than a year ago, Ferries officials proposed fewer runs with larger ferries carrying between 124 and 144 cars and a Port Townsend terminal that would extend 180 feet into Port Townsend Bay for 70 additional holding spaces on the dock.
Anderson said Wednesday that the new tack was in great part the result of public comments from both sides of the ferry run.
The change aims at establishing vessels that will carry between 60 and 100 vehicles, but which are no smaller than the 80-year-old Steel Electric vessels now in use.
The vessels are the oldest ferries in the world, State Ferries officials say.
More runs
The idea is to have more ferry runs, possibly using three vessels in the future, if community members approve, said Anderson.
This would stem the stream of traffic that flows from ferries at peak periods, backing up on Sims Way, Port Townsend's main state Highway 20 entrance.
Anderson said the new approach will also consider the ferry route as a whole rather than separately looking at Port Townsend and Keystone facilities.
The idea has some risks, said Anderson.
"If for any reason that the (Steel Electric) class was not allowed to operate, then we would not have another boat to operate up there," Anderson said.
"So that is the risk."
This could happen if the Coast Guard declined safety certification for any of the four Steel Electrics.
Aging ferries
The ferry system planning and expansion delay could also mean the aging ferries may not be replaced for years to come.
"The scary thing is, given the planning process, it is unlikely we will see any new vessel for at least 10 years out," said Tim Caldwell, Port Townsend Chamber of Commerce general manager and a Port Townsend Ferry Advisory Committee member.
Caldwell has long been active in attempts to establish passenger ferry service between Port Townsend, Port Ludlow and Seattle.
"That means we could run the Steel Electrics until they are 90 years old," he said.
"We will have to come up with new money to replace them with new boats on this route."
The new direction comes after Gov. Chris Gregoire on Tuesday signed legislation, House Bill 2358, which essentially puts statewide ferry expansion efforts on hold.
The two-year $7.4 billion state transportation budget proposal delays $36 million that was earmarked for Port Townsend ferry terminal expansion.
HB 2358 states that the Legislature finds from the 2006 Washington State Ferries financing study that the state has limited information on state ferry users and markets.
Such information is vital for finding ways to maximize the ferry system's current capacity and to make efficient use of tax dollars, the legislation said.
The delay in funding ferry system expansion is intended to allow the State Ferries system to regroup and come up with something other than a one-size-fits-all ferry plan that includes the Port Townsend-Keystone route.
The legislation provides for $1 million to go toward new Port Townsend-Keystone ferry run planning efforts.
Anderson said he hoped the new approach would allow the ferry system to go to more maneuverable and smaller vessels.
It will certainly allow new vessel analysis before a viable option is placed on the table.
"You gotta make a decision that is flexible enough to go to the long term," said Anderson.
Asked if expansion of Port Townsend's ferry terminal could still happen, Anderson said, "That decision is not to be made today."
Win for community
Deputy Mayor Michelle Sandoval - a driving City Council force behind the ferry financing legislation through Rep. Lynn Kessler, D-Hoquiam, and Sen. Mary Margaret Haugen, D-Camano Island - said after the announcement:
"I think the biggest win for our community is the acknowledgment that a boat for 100 cars or less would be at the bookends" of the Port Townsend-Keystone runs.
"We feel that we were instrumental in getting that legislation passed," Sandoval said of HB 2358.
She said she was also pleased with the partnership Port Townsend has with Keystone under the new approach, rather than the two operating as separate entities on either side of Admiralty Inlet.
Sandoval said another state ferries decision is that an environmental impact statement would be done for Port Townsend.
"I was not very happy that they determined that Whidbey would have an EIS, but not on this side," Sandoval said.
"Now they are saying it is going to be determined as a significant project, and that we are going to offset significant impact on this side."
Sandoval also said she hoped the ferry system would "look at operations in general, a systemic look, including the reservations system."
A pilot ferry reservation system, which Sandoval helped push through state Transportation Commission approval, is expected to be launched at the Port Townsend terminal in about a year.
