Passenger-ferry service between Kingston and downtown Seattle has been delayed until December.
Aqua Express, a consortium of marine businesses, said it needs to improve the loading dock in Kingston before it can begin service.
Aqua Express had hoped to begin the much-anticipated weekday foot-ferry run on Oct. 1.
The company had intended to begin service from the Port of Kingston’s guest dock while preparing the nearby public fishing pier as a permanent dock facility.
But the company decided the guest dock is too problematic to use, even on a temporary basis, according to Brian Grantham, Aqua Express general manager.
Grantham said the area is poorly lit, the gangplank is uneven and unsafe, passengers must walk too far — and the dock has no equipment to accommodate the disabled.
“It’s just not a safe option at this time,” he said Friday.
“It would have been starting off on the wrong foot.”