Decision on ferry landing to come with survey results
By Jeff Chew, Peninsula Daily News
Print This |
Email This
Recent Headlines
Komen drops plan to cut Planned Parenthood grants -- 2/3/12 -09:17 AM
Crane removes blast debris from Sequim marina [**Video**] -- 2/3/12 -02:18 PM
PENINSULA SPOTLIGHT WEEKEND: Olympic Theatre Arts stages ‘Spitfire Grill: A Musical’ -- 2/2/12 -07:02 PM
WEEKEND: Super Bowl blues? Plenty to do around Peninsula -- 2/2/12 -05:34 PM
WEEKEND: First Friday Walk connects community with creators -- 2/2/12 -05:22 PM
You'll know on Friday.
State Transportation Secretary Paula Hammond, after reviewing results of an online public poll, will decide Friday whether six-week passenger ferry service when the Hood Canal Bridge is severed next year will run from South Point to Lofall or Port Ludlow to Kingston.
The survey — asking the public which location is better — closed at midnight last Friday with nearly 4,000 responding, said Becky Hixson, Hood Canal Bridge project business manager.
The state Department of Transportation survey is expected to settle the debate over the location of temporary passenger ferry service during the six weeks next May-June when contractor Kiewit-General Construction removes and replaces the floating bridge's 47-year-old eastern half.
Without hinting any of the results, Hixson on Monday said the survey's data were being tabulated for Hammond.
"These are definitely the best results I've seen from a survey that I've done," said Hixson, recalling the 800 responses to a 2005 survey asking bridge users if they preferred a weekend or weekday closure to replace the on-ramps during that summer.
Two options
While awaiting the survey results, Transportation is pursuing both passenger ferry options, Hixson said.
They are:
There would be transit connections to local communities.
This option would require motorists on the Jefferson County to park at a temporary lot at the Shine Quarry off state Highway 104, which would have 1,500 park-and-ride spaces.
Passengers would then take a shuttle bus to the temporary ferry dock at South Point.
On the Lofall side, a shuttle could be taken to the Kingston ferry or other Kitsap County destinations.
The proposed Port Ludlow embarkation point at the community's marina is about five miles north of the bridge.
It would have up to 535 parking spaces at Port Ludlow Marina and 590 spaces at the Port of Kingston's marina, ferry terminal, Bayside Community Church and George's Corner.
Distinct difference
One distinct difference in the two options is time and cost.
Hixson said the South Point-Lofall option would use two 149-passenger ferries for service every 20-30 minutes at a cost of about $2 million, depending on the price of fuel.
The Port Ludlow-Kingston option would require three boats providing service every 45 minutes at a cost of $4.5 million, she said.
Municipal preferences
The Port Angeles Regional and Port Townsend chambers of commerce have united in support of ferry service between Port Ludlow and Kingston during the closure
Both Tim Caldwell, Port Townsend Chamber of Commerce general manager, and Russ Veenema, Port Angeles Regional Chamber of Commerce executive director, sent separate letters to Hammond more than a week ago.
Both chamber executives contend that the Ludlow-Kingston water shuttle would save the state about $4 million in bridge mitigation funds that could go toward water transportation alternatives.
Such options include temporary car-ferry service between Port Townsend and Edmonds during the bridge closure.
PT-Edmonds route
Caldwell and Veenema — fearing a loss of tourism during next year's Memorial Day weekend — also strongly suggested in their letters to Hammond that a Port Townsend-Edmonds car ferry should be added while the bridge is out.
Such car-ferry service was set up when the bridge's western half sank in 1979.
The online survey does not address the Port Townsend-Edmonds car ferry alternative.
Hammond and other Washington State Ferries officials have expressed doubts about a car ferry vessel being available for the two-hour route.
Mitigation plan
Since 1999, Transportation has worked with local communities and elected leaders to develop a mitigation plan for when the Hood Canal Bridge is closed.
The option to use a passenger-only water shuttle across Hood Canal was selected as part of the mitigation plan.
The floating bridge is the Peninsula's main artery across Hood Canal, connecting it with Kitsap County, car-ferry service to the Seattle-area and the highway to Tacoma.
The Hood Canal Bridge averages about 25,000 vehicle trips per day.
The state will call for bids in August to secure passenger ferry boats for the water shuttle route during the bridge closure.
________
Jefferson County Editor Jeff Chew can be reached at 360-385-2335 or jeff.chew@peninsuladailynews.com.
More on the Hood Canal Bridge closure can be found at www.hoodcanalbridge.com.
Last modified: June 09. 2008 9:00PM