Fauntleroy-Vashon-Southworth

[Blue Bus Fan]

Washington state ferries taking a look at improving services on these routes with help from public feedback:

www.wsdot.wa.gov/news/2016/10/13/wsf-hosting-meetings-month-discuss-fauntleroy-vashon-island-southworth-service

[vashonislander]

Hi there, long time lurker, first time poster.

Since I'm a 5th generation Vashon Islander and recently moved back to the island earlier in the year, I'm pretty intimately familiar with the problems this run has been having.

The main issue is Fauntleroy. Vashon and Southworth don't really have the problems, but the Fauntleroy dock is too small for the 130-car ferries (it was less of a problem back when there was only one of them on the route) to be operating the schedules they're operating. That said, if the schedules become any less frequent, I will lose my mind as will many other islanders. This came to a head this summer, when numbers increase dramatically (and most of the new users are stopping at the tollbooths to buy tickets), with ferries leaving half-empty while the line extended all the way up past Lincoln Park to the gas station on Fauntleroy Way. That pissed off a good number of people and that's why these meetings happened. Unfortunately I wasn't able to make it to the meeting on Vashon, but I'm 90% sure it was largely people complaining about this situation in the summer.

The problem is, I don't know what can be done about the Fauntleroy dock and I'm positive the homeowners there will launch a crusade if the state tries to do much of anything. Unless that dock can be expanded and the number of cars being handled at the tollbooths can be addressed, this same situation will occur next summer. I have also read that the issue is compounded by the legislature imposing performance targets for on-time departures, which led to the ferries leaving half-full, I'm sure that's part of it, but if I were a walk-on or cyclist or transit passenger, the ferries leaving on-time is probably more important than them leaving full and perhaps will convince some folks to avoid car trips... I'm a driver and I don't have any other viable options because the majority of my trips are to the Eastside or are at odd hours, but I can see the logic in the on-time thing and I don't think that's something we ought to do away with either.

That said, these problems aren't exactly new. Old island families like mine have a rich tradition of blaming it on Southworth, I like to blame it on the "new Vashon" folks and the "new Vashon" folks like to blame it on tourists or "future new Vashon" folks. So there's a fun circle of blame to this. Hopefully the fact that Senator Sharon Nelson lives on the island will ensure that Vashon isn't ignored by the ferries like it has been for much of the past. The fact that there were public meetings is mildly encouraging, but the solutions to this aren't going to be simple and commuter traffic to both Vashon and Southworth (especially Southworth) are only going to increase in the coming years.

[Kahloke]

Welcome to the Forum, Vashonislander.  We have a good mix of folks here, mostly from BC and Washington.  Everyone has their own area of expertise, or at least, familiarization.  It will be good to hear your perspective on the Vashon Island situation.

I know in the past, various ideas were considered on how to fix the triangle route. One of the more interesting ideas was to split up the triangle, and run car ferries directly from Southworth to Colman Dock, keeping Fauntleroy for Vashon service only, and running a smaller "shuttle" ferry between Vashon and Southworth.  That scenario would certainly simplify things at Fauntleroy, and with two vessels providing point-to-point service between Fauntleroy and Vashon, there would be an increase in frequency, not to mention some consistency to the schedule, which could help alleviate some of the traffic backups on that side.  Naturally, that plan would require a lot of capital to enlarge the Southworth terminal to include a 2nd slip, which would be required at that point, and there would need to be a smaller vessel of some kind suitable for doing the Vashon-Southworth shuttle, plus additional ferries to operate Southworth-Seattle, and last, but not least, an expansion of Colman Dock.  I'm not too surprised there hasn't been any traction on that proposal, and it's a pretty old idea, maybe even pre I-695. 

[Kahloke]

Apparently, the boarding process test at Fauntleroy last month was successful enough for WSF to implement it on a permanent basis

State Ferries to switch to new boarding process at Fauntleroy terminal
by Mitch PittmanThursday, June 8th 2017

SEATTLE - Ferry Commuters at West Seattle's Fauntleroy terminal are about to see some big changes become permanent.

Washington State Ferries said a trial period for a new boarding process in May was so successful, they're putting the new system into place later this month.

The ferry ride from Fauntleroy to Vashon and Southworth is fairly short. But, commuters often spend longer waiting to board the ferry than they do actually riding it.
"The riding is pretty good, but the waiting, especially on the weekends or late in the afternoon is long and tedious and tiring," said Len Burton-Hardin, who uses the Fauntleroy route.

The line is notorious for backing up and creating headaches for drivers and neighbors who live nearby.

But, the ferry system said during the new boarding process trail period last month, they were able to move 85 more cars onto the ferries during the daily three-hour peak period.

"If 85 more cars can get through, that means 85 fewer people who aren't late coming home," said Broch Bender with Washington State Ferries.

The new system sorts destinations with cards and uses dock space more efficiently.

"Having [the cards] should help. Everybody get in the right space and get through," said driver Leland Hale.

Bender said the results are preliminary, but they're looking to switch to the new system full-time starting June 19.

That means all drivers will need to stop at the toll booths and a so-called traffic splitter will direct cars where to go at the entrance.

Ferry staff said even with the changes, they are limited by dock space and there will still be empty spots on boats that won't be filled.

Most commuters told KOMO they're excited about the new system. But, some drivers, who went through the trial run, are skeptical.

"They thought that would speed things up, but I think it slows it down," said driver Judy Lucas. "I prefer the way they do it right now."

Ferry officials said drivers might not notice the reduced wait times right away.

"We’re looking to reduce wait times ultimately, however, because it’s our busy season, we don’t expect there to be a huge change in wait times just yet," said Bender.

“Anything has got to be better than what we got now," said Burton-Hardin.

Washington State Ferries said buying your ticket in advance is another way to help keep the lines moving. They plan to roll out a new pay-by-phone feature sometime this summer.

Ferry officials said they'll test the new system for 30 days then reevaluate and tweak the process, if necessary.

komonews.com/news/local/state-ferries-to-switch-to-new-boarding-process-at-fauntleroy-terminal

[rwbsparks]

This may be a horrible plan, so tell me if it is.
Pier 48 is wide open, there's nothing there, so what (besides money that will be spent more wastefully in other ways) is preventing WSF from splitting the triangle and making 48 the terminal for Southworth? The pier is.certainly large enough, if it's an issue of clearance from the duwamish head the pier can be shortened to the appropriate length. With the Hiyu gone the perfect Vashon-Southworth boat has been lost and the route would require 5 vessels. Two for F-V, one for V-S and two for S-S. So I see boat shortage being the reason why this cannot be done. A new schedule that gives ample time to load an Issaquah at each end of F-V should alleviate lines and splitting the traffic into two will also help. Traffic in West Seattle would also be reduced. There's still the issue of a small Fauntleroy dock, which losing the Southworth traffic would only delay the crisis. But I think that a Pier 48- Southworth route is the best long term solution. Unless Colman can be expanded but I don't see that as a possibility.

[Kahloke]

Jun 26, 2017 22:58:40 GMT -8 rwbsparks said:

This may be a horrible plan, so tell me if it is.
Pier 48 is wide open, there's nothing there, so what (besides money that will be spent more wastefully in other ways) is preventing WSF from splitting the triangle and making 48 the terminal for Southworth? The pier is.certainly large enough, if it's an issue of clearance from the duwamish head the pier can be shortened to the appropriate length. With the Hiyu gone the perfect Vashon-Southworth boat has been lost and the route would require 5 vessels. Two for F-V, one for V-S and two for S-S. So I see boat shortage being the reason why this cannot be done. A new schedule that gives ample time to load an Issaquah at each end of F-V should alleviate lines and splitting the traffic into two will also help. Traffic in West Seattle would also be reduced. There's still the issue of a small Fauntleroy dock, which losing the Southworth traffic would only delay the crisis. But I think that a Pier 48- Southworth route is the best long term solution. Unless Colman can be expanded but I don't see that as a possibility.

Splitting up the triangle was in the long range plans a number of years ago.  I still believe that would be a good way to go, but the required expansion of both Colman Dock and Southworth Terminal, as well as the need to procure more vessels, probably makes it a non-starter. More likely would be a Southworth-Seattle passenger only service during the weekday commuter hours.  That would still require infrastructure upgrades at Southworth, but a passenger ferry dock would be a lot less expensive, and invasive, than a 2nd slip for car ferries.

[rwbsparks]

Jun 27, 2017 7:05:56 GMT -8 Kahloke said:

Jun 26, 2017 22:58:40 GMT -8 rwbsparks said:

This may be a horrible plan, so tell me if it is.
Pier 48 is wide open, there's nothing there, so what (besides money that will be spent more wastefully in other ways) is preventing WSF from splitting the triangle and making 48 the terminal for Southworth? The pier is.certainly large enough, if it's an issue of clearance from the duwamish head the pier can be shortened to the appropriate length. With the Hiyu gone the perfect Vashon-Southworth boat has been lost and the route would require 5 vessels. Two for F-V, one for V-S and two for S-S. So I see boat shortage being the reason why this cannot be done. A new schedule that gives ample time to load an Issaquah at each end of F-V should alleviate lines and splitting the traffic into two will also help. Traffic in West Seattle would also be reduced. There's still the issue of a small Fauntleroy dock, which losing the Southworth traffic would only delay the crisis. But I think that a Pier 48- Southworth route is the best long term solution. Unless Colman can be expanded but I don't see that as a possibility.

Splitting up the triangle was in the long range plans a number of years ago.  I still believe that would be a good way to go, but the required expansion of both Colman Dock and Southworth Terminal, as well as the need to procure more vessels, probably makes it a non-starter. More likely would be a Southworth-Seattle passenger only service during the weekday commuter hours.  That would still require infrastructure upgrades at Southworth, but a passenger ferry dock would be a lot less expensive, and invasive, than a 2nd slip for car ferries.

Hence why I recommended that pier 48 be requisitioned. Is it just what's normal or is there a law that dictates ferries overnight on the Kitsap/Olympic/Whidbey Island side? After all, the SJI boats overnight in Anacortes. What is preventing them from overnighting boats in Seattle? That way Southworth can stay as is. The schedules can be timed so that the boat from Vashon doesn't overlap with the boat from Seattle. The boat from Vashon would be small enough that a 5-7 minute turn around at southworth would be feasible. Pier 48-Southworth would be 40-45 minutes which would give 40-45 minutes for the boat from Vashon to fit in. Say it arrives from Vashon 5 minutes after boat leaves for Seattle. 40 minutes remaining. Departs 5-7 minutes later, crossing is blocked for 10 minutes but takes hypothetically 8. 25 minutes 5-7 minute turn at Vashon, 8 minute trip to Southworth. 10 minutes remaining. 5-7 minute turn. Slip is open for boat from Pier 48. Obviously Vashon-Southworth wouldn't require that ambitious of a schedule. But it could be doable. Seattle-Southworth could also be a lot shorter than 45 minutes. That's the time for Pier 55 to Blake Island, and Southworth is a little farther and ferries are a little faster, so I gave it 45 minutes.

[Blue Bus Fan]

A new schedule for when the route gets three Issaquah Class (124) will be in place by 2019:

westseattleblog.com/2017/12/ferries-triangle-route-task-force-members-make-their-should-we-stay-or-should-we-go-decision/  

[Kahloke]

Dec 26, 2017 19:58:41 GMT -8 Blue Bus Fan said:

A new schedule for when the route gets three Issaquah Class (124) will be in place by 2019:

westseattleblog.com/2017/12/ferries-triangle-route-task-force-members-make-their-should-we-stay-or-should-we-go-decision/  

Interesting article; thanks for posting.  The traffic has, and is, outpacing the infrastructure on this route, and the current schedule certainly cannot keep pace with the larger vessels that are already in service here.  The schedule was written a long time ago when 2 Evergreens and the Issaquah were the vessels in service.  Now, there are at a minimum 2 Issaquah-124's, and the 90 car Sealth.  On occasion, there have been 3 Issaquah 124's here, when that was what was available, so they've already had a taste of what that looks like.  It will be interesting to see what kind of schedule comes out of the task force recommendations.  I suspect the number of sailings will have to decrease, with dwell time increasing, to offset the larger vessel size.  Some commuters are not going to be happy with that.  

[Kahloke]

More triangle route woes:

Vashon Island residents turn to legislature to fix ferry issues
by Joel MorenoTuesday, January 16th 2018

VASHON ISLAND, Wash. – After numerous attempts to find solutions, some island residents are now counting on state lawmakers to fix what they say are persistent problems with the ferry system.
  The complaints focus on unfilled boats, cancelled runs and the small business owners on Vashon Island who have been paying the price. They’ve turned to Rep. Judy Clibborn, who sits on the state legislature’s joint transportation committee, to push the ferry system to do better at moving cars and passengers instead of emphasizing on-time performance.

“On-time performance is a valid goal but we know from experience that it can be achieved while filling boats,”said Kathy Abascal, one of the island residents who met with Clibborn on Friday of last week.
  Jim Marsh, executive director of the Vashon-Maury Island Chamber of Commerce, said shops and stores across the island are feeling the impacts from inconsistent ferry service. Marsh said it is discouraging some customers from even making the crossing.

“We have a significant number of people come to the island to work,” Marsh said. “So when they can't make it, it puts our employers into having to keep people who are on the island working overtime."
  Abascal put together a flyer from the night of the deadly Amtrak derailment, when Interstate 5 was blocked and people were told to take the ferries to get around. However, when they got to the Fauntleroy dock, Abascal said they got to see partially-filled boats pull away while they and other drivers sat on the dock waiting to board.

Island residents say that attention on keeping the ferry schedule on-time should be dropped in favor of transporting as many cars and people per trip as possible.

A spokesperson for Rep. Clibborn said the lawmaker believes legitimate concerns are being raised and she will now talk to ferry officials to try to fix this situation.

State ferry officials acknowledge that Vashon Island is their worst performing run but they point to several challenges to correct that.
  For starters, the ferries are legislatively mandated to achieve certain on-time performance goals. Secondly, keeping boats at the dock to fill them creates a cascade of back-ups that get worse throughout the day. The spokesperson also pointed out that the Fauntleroy dock is badly outdated, which contributes to the bottlenecks when loading cars and passengers for Vashon Island and Southworth.

komonews.com/news/local/vashon-island-residents-turn-to-legislature-to-fix-ferry-issues

Ultimately, I believe the F-V-S triangle route needs to be broken up with Fauntleroy only serving Vashon, and Southworth boats heading direct into downtown Seattle, but that solution would be many years away, if possible at all.

[EGfleet]

Jan 17, 2018 7:39:23 GMT -8 Kahloke said:

More triangle route woes:

komonews.com/news/local/vashon-island-residents-turn-to-legislature-to-fix-ferry-issues

Ultimately, I believe the F-V-S triangle route needs to be broken up with Fauntleroy only serving Vashon, and Southworth boats heading direct into downtown Seattle, but that solution would be many years away, if possible at all.

And that isn't going to happen  until they're done with the rebuild of Colman Dock.

[rwbsparks]

Jan 17, 2018 7:39:23 GMT -8 Kahloke said:

More triangle route woes:

Vashon Island residents turn to legislature to fix ferry issues
by Joel MorenoTuesday, January 16th 2018

VASHON ISLAND, Wash. – After numerous attempts to find solutions, some island residents are now counting on state lawmakers to fix what they say are persistent problems with the ferry system.
  The complaints focus on unfilled boats, cancelled runs and the small business owners on Vashon Island who have been paying the price. They’ve turned to Rep. Judy Clibborn, who sits on the state legislature’s joint transportation committee, to push the ferry system to do better at moving cars and passengers instead of emphasizing on-time performance.

“On-time performance is a valid goal but we know from experience that it can be achieved while filling boats,”said Kathy Abascal, one of the island residents who met with Clibborn on Friday of last week.
  Jim Marsh, executive director of the Vashon-Maury Island Chamber of Commerce, said shops and stores across the island are feeling the impacts from inconsistent ferry service. Marsh said it is discouraging some customers from even making the crossing.

“We have a significant number of people come to the island to work,” Marsh said. “So when they can't make it, it puts our employers into having to keep people who are on the island working overtime."
  Abascal put together a flyer from the night of the deadly Amtrak derailment, when Interstate 5 was blocked and people were told to take the ferries to get around. However, when they got to the Fauntleroy dock, Abascal said they got to see partially-filled boats pull away while they and other drivers sat on the dock waiting to board.

Island residents say that attention on keeping the ferry schedule on-time should be dropped in favor of transporting as many cars and people per trip as possible.

A spokesperson for Rep. Clibborn said the lawmaker believes legitimate concerns are being raised and she will now talk to ferry officials to try to fix this situation.

State ferry officials acknowledge that Vashon Island is their worst performing run but they point to several challenges to correct that.
  For starters, the ferries are legislatively mandated to achieve certain on-time performance goals. Secondly, keeping boats at the dock to fill them creates a cascade of back-ups that get worse throughout the day. The spokesperson also pointed out that the Fauntleroy dock is badly outdated, which contributes to the bottlenecks when loading cars and passengers for Vashon Island and Southworth.

komonews.com/news/local/vashon-island-residents-turn-to-legislature-to-fix-ferry-issues

Ultimately, I believe the F-V-S triangle route needs to be broken up with Fauntleroy only serving Vashon, and Southworth boats heading direct into downtown Seattle, but that solution would be many years away, if possible at all.

What’s the holding capacity at Fauntleroy? The inability to have a boatload of vehicles processed and ready to board greatly hampers the turnaround time for the vessels. They can’t start processing vehicles until dock space is open. This delays boarding those vehicles. The toll booths need to have at least 124 spaces between them and the boat to help this run be more efficient.

[compdude787]

I read in a more recent Seattle times article last week that the Fauntleroy dock can only hold 80 cars on it. Pretty lame. The only way that WSF can effectively solve this problem--and people suggested this in the aforementioned article--is by having ticket sellers walk up the line of cars and sell tickets to people so that they won't have to stop at the tollbooth but be able to get straight on the ferry. Short of expanding the ferry dock, which will take several years, this is the only way to fix the issues in the short term.

[chokai]

Innovative stuff like in line ticket takers or Good2Go aside, this will go on until the dock is due for refurbishment or seismic retrofit in 2025 at which point it will be slightly expanded and/or reworked to solve the problem because it will be harder for the neighborhood groups to resist "safety" work. That is the way Seattle generally works, slow incremental change that is much discussed, often wrapped in some other project.

[FNS]

Feb 3, 2018 0:19:35 GMT -8 compdude787 said:

I read in a more recent Seattle times article last week that the Fauntleroy dock can only hold 80 cars on it. Pretty lame. The only way that WSF can effectively solve this problem--and people suggested this in the aforementioned article--is by having ticket sellers walk up the line of cars and sell tickets to people so that they won't have to stop at the tollbooth but be able to get straight on the ferry. Short of expanding the ferry dock, which will take several years, this is the only way to fix the issues in the short term.

If my memory is right, there was a ticket seller who walked up collecting fares and issuing tickets to the cars lined up on the hills on the old Columbia Beach run.  Back then, there were at least three or four "rowboats" on the run. 

Nice thought on the NVI run, but I think you can't do this nowadays due to today's society.  A toll booth up the hill at FAU could sell tickets with fast plastic readers and ticket dispensers.  Time consuming cash payers would have to use a dedicated booth at the dock while the other dock booth quickly inspects the tickets issued up the hill and sends those cars to the holding lanes.

Perhaps a mobile toll booth (in a small secure car) could do the fare collecting up the hill at FAU.

Splitting up the routes and sending SOU traffic to SEA might be an idea, only to commence after all work is done at the renovated Colman Dock.  Place 2 I-124s on that 40 minute run with hourly sailings.  Place two I-124s on the NVI to FAU run.  You will need to build a new S2-Class ferry as a shuttle between NVI and SOU.  The routes go back to the tri-terminal service (omitting SEA) after 9pm or so after three of the I-124s and the S2-Class ferries have made fast for the night (with two more tie-up slips added at NVI).

My thoughts on this.

[Kahloke]

Feb 7, 2018 12:50:18 GMT -8 FNS said:

If my memory is right, there was a ticket seller who walked up collecting fares and issuing tickets to the cars lined up on the hills on the old Columbia Beach run.  Back then, there were at least three or four "rowboats" on the run.

Nice thought on the NVI run, but I think you can't do this nowadays due to today's society. A toll booth up the hill at FAU could sell tickets with fast plastic readers and ticket dispensers. Time consuming cash payers would have to use a dedicated booth at the dock while the other dock booth quickly inspects the tickets issued up the hill and sends those cars to the holding lanes.

Perhaps a mobile toll booth (in a small secure car) could do the fare collecting up the hill at FAU.

Splitting up the routes and sending SOU traffic to SEA might be an idea, only to commence after all work is done at the renovated Colman Dock.  Place 2 I-124s on that 40 minute run with hourly sailings.  Place two I-124s on the NVI to FAU run.  You will need to build a new S2-Class ferry as a shuttle between NVI and SOU.  The routes go back to the tri-terminal service (omitting SEA) after 9pm or so after three of the I-124s and the S2-Class ferries have made fast for the night (with two more tie-up slips added at NVI).

My thoughts on this.

Long term, I agree with you - break up the triangle. If Vashon is the only destination served from Fauntleroy, that would reduce some of the complexity, and if you have two Issy 124's deployed there, you could have service every 30 minutes like what we see at Mukilteo-Clinton. It doesn't solve the dock size issue, but it might help mitigate it. I honestly do not know if splitting up F-V-S will ever come to fruition. It would require additional vessels and additional land-side infrastructure at Vashon, possibly at Southworth, and definitely at Colman Dock in Seattle, although now would be the time to plan for something like this since that terminal is essentially being replaced anyway. I see something like this as many years out, if at all.

Short term, I do not know what the answers are, but it seems like technology could help a little. I don't think Good To Go will work because the transponders can't read passengers, but what about expanding the ORCA Card to include vehicles? You could have an attendant with a hand held scanner walking the ferry line scanning drivers and their vehicles in, as well as any passengers who have the card. It doesn't work for people without the card, but if regular commuters have the card, that could potentially speed the processing time up.

When the dock at Fauntleroy gets its seismic upgrades in 2025 (according to the Seattle Times link in a previous post), it would be nice if the dock could be expanded at that time, but I'm not sure an expansion would be allowed with all of the shoreline regulations, and the fact that there are residences right next to the terminal on both sides.

There are no easy answers here. I am very curious how things are going to pan out for this route.

[Blue Bus Fan]

Draft schedule has been released the schedule has one major change which will occur during the afternoon peak hour, from 3 pm to 7:10 pm all sailings will stop at Vashon and Southworth instead of direct sailing.

www.kitsapsun.com/story/news/2018/10/26/triangle-route-ferry-schedule-changes-wsf/1777950002/

[Cascadian Transport]

On 24 October, I attended the WSF Triangle Route Public Consultation at Vashon High School. Overall, it was a positive experience; I got to talk to several WSF Representatives and deepen my understanding of the operations of the Fauntleroy-Vashon-Southworth Route. Some of the highlights from the meeting, that I thought would be of interest here:

Background: As most of you probably already know, the Kittitas (Not Kitsap) will soon be replacing the Sealth on the FVS Triangle, and the larger vessel coupled with the constraints at Fauntleroy necessitate a new schedule.  The philosophy behind the new sailing schedule (Which goes into effect Spring 2019):

• As Blue Bus Fan mentioned before, almost every sailing departing Fauntleroy during the evening commute will serve both VAI and SOU. The hope is that this will reduce dwell time at Fauntleroy by eliminating the need to sort vehicles. The big flaw with Fauntleroy is the fact that, beyond the tollbooths, the staging area has only four lanes with a combined capacity of 80 cars (Only about two thirds the capacity of an Issaquah). Once those four lanes are full, any additional vehicles must be staged single-file on the shoulder of Fauntleroy Way. This creates challenges with loading single-destination sailings; If, for example, a vessel is trying to load for a SOU-Only sailing, and the staging area is evenly divided between SOU and VAI, that leaves only 40 cars staged and ready to load for Southworth. Once those 40 cars start boarding, the tollbooths will start trying as quickly as possible to get more vehicles processed and on the boat, but at the same time they must also sort Vashon and Southworth traffic. As one can imagine, that process is inefficient, time-consuming, and leads to vessels leaving vehicles on the dock because there is simply not enough time to fully load them. The new schedule fixes that problem; All-stops sailings mean that all 80 vehicles in the staging area can be loaded, meaning only 40 more vehicles need to then be processed before the vessel is fully loaded, and those 40 vehicles can simply be the next 40 in line as opposed to having to cherry-pick vehicles traveling to the correct destination. Thus, a philosophy of multiple-destination sailings at peak times should help expedite loading at Fauntleroy and improve on-time performance.
• The Morning commute remains very similar to the way it is set up now. Most sailing times are adjusted, but the overall structure and format is largely unchanged.

Other Interesting Items to note:

• I asked about whatever happened to the concept of breaking up the triangle and sending Southworth sailings to Colman Dock.  This concept was seriously considered in the late 90's and again to an extent in 2006. However, contrary to what was expected, many Southworth residents wanted their service to stay at Fauntleroy. The City of Seattle also shot the plan down as they did not want the additional traffic that would have been generated by a third route out of Colman Dock. The long and the short of it is, breaking up the triangle is a non-starter for the foreseeable future.
• Integrated into the new sailing schedule will be two sailings per day between Southworth and Vashon that are to be deliberately timed to connect with King County Water Taxi sailings between Vashon and Downtown Seattle. 
• WSF is hoping to rebuild the Fauntleroy terminal in about a decade. Besides the insufficient staging area, another problem affecting the long-term sustainability of the terminal is the pier's elevation above the water; it is the lowest of any terminal in the system. At High Tide, a ferry's car deck is sometimes higher than the pier itself, and the loading ramp must be angled upwards to reach the vessel. If sea levels continue to rise, it could render the ramp unusable during high tides. As of now, WSF does not have any definitive plans as to the design of the rebuilt terminal, however, one of the ideas is to extend the pier outwards in addition to lifting it to expand the staging capacity. 

=====
Overall, I greatly enjoyed attending the open house and learning more about the FVS Reconstruction and the system in general. If anyone else is interested, more information about the project can be found H E R E, and I have a data overview packet and vessel operation schedule that I can likely scan and provide here upon request.  

[Kahloke]

Nov 4, 2018 20:46:28 GMT -8 Cascadian Transport said:

On 24 October, I attended the WSF Triangle Route Public Consultation at Vashon High School. Overall, it was a positive experience; I got to talk to several WSF Representatives and deepen my understanding of the operations of the Fauntleroy-Vashon-Southworth Route. Some of the highlights from the meeting, that I thought would be of interest here:

Good on you for attending. Thank you for filling us in on what happened. It's interesting to hear the long range plan for this route. It's a pity they've abandoned the idea of breaking up the triangle and sending ferries into downtown Seattle. I don't see how Fauntleroy can ever be adequately expanded to accommodate the current traffic levels, let alone future growth. If it were a single destination terminal, serving Vashon only, there might be a chance. That said, I DO recognize the challenges of adding a new route into downtown Seattle, and the associated costs with new infrastructure, additional vessels etc., so I get why that is probably a non-starter from a funding standpoint. It just seems that the Fauntleroy terminal will always be a pinch-point, unless they were to somehow buy up the properties around the terminal to do a proper expansion, but I don't think that's likely.

[Barnacle]

Nov 6, 2018 8:11:42 GMT -8 Kahloke said:

Nov 4, 2018 20:46:28 GMT -8 Cascadian Transport said:

On 24 October, I attended the WSF Triangle Route Public Consultation at Vashon High School. Overall, it was a positive experience; I got to talk to several WSF Representatives and deepen my understanding of the operations of the Fauntleroy-Vashon-Southworth Route. Some of the highlights from the meeting, that I thought would be of interest here:

Good on you for attending. Thank you for filling us in on what happened. It's interesting to hear the long range plan for this route. It's a pity they've abandoned the idea of breaking up the triangle and sending ferries into downtown Seattle. I don't see how Fauntleroy can ever be adequately expanded to accommodate the current traffic levels, let alone future growth. If it were a single destination terminal, serving Vashon only, there might be a chance. That said, I DO recognize the challenges of adding a new route into downtown Seattle, and the associated costs with new infrastructure, additional vessels etc., so I get why that is probably a non-starter from a funding standpoint. It just seems that the Fauntleroy terminal will always be a pinch-point, unless they were to somehow buy up the properties around the terminal to do a proper expansion, but I don't think that's likely.

I think the only possibility for Vashon auto service out of Seattle (downtown) would have to involve Pier 48.  Colman Dock is pretty much at capacity already.  I don't see it happening any time soon, unfortunately.

[Blue Bus Fan]

June 1, 2021 mark the 70^th year of Washington State Ferries service to Vashon Island:

www.vashonbeachcomber.com/news/this-summer-marks-70th-anniversary-for-ferries/

[Neil]

Aug 6, 2021 20:56:46 GMT -8 Blue Bus Fan said:

June 1, 2021 mark the 70^th year of Washington State Ferries service to Vashon Island:

www.vashonbeachcomber.com/news/this-summer-marks-70th-anniversary-for-ferries/

Thanks for posting that interesting piece. I like reading about the evolution of ferry services that we've long taken for granted.

[Blue Bus Fan]

Southworth will be getting a passenger building:

www.king5.com/article/news/local/washington-state-ferries-receives-12-million-funding/281-de538ab5-a049-4f21-9099-8515fde3074c

[Deleted]

Jan 29, 2023 13:00:36 GMT -8 Blue Bus Fan said:

Southworth will be getting a passenger building:

www.king5.com/article/news/local/washington-state-ferries-receives-12-million-funding/281-de538ab5-a049-4f21-9099-8515fde3074c

NEW passenger building, there's an existing one there but it's in need of an upgrade. 

[SS San Mateo]

The route will be going to a partial 3 boat schedule next month with potential full weekday schedule by Fall 2023.


westseattleblog.com/2023/03/ferries-new-date-estimates-for-restoring-3-boat-service-on-fauntleroy-vashon-southworth-route/