Foot Ferries Riding a Wave of Interest

Original article
Kitsap Transit isn’t the only one talking up passenger-only ferries as a potential solution to Puget Sound’s transportation woes.

This past year, transit thinkers from the Canadian border down to Olympia have been talk, talk, talking about how systems of small, privately run ferries would better connect the region.

Recent events have inspired the chatter, such as the state axing its foot ferry service and then passing legislation that allows transit agencies to fill the void.

For some, however, this talk began long before this year. Now, those same folks aren’t just talking anymore; they’re taking action — or at least studying how to take action.

Both the Port of Tacoma and the Whatcom Council of Governments are trying to kick off feasibility studies to see if passenger ferries could work in their areas.

The Whatcom Council of Governments, a metropolitan planning organization in the North Sound, received a $196,000 federal grant to study the possibility of foot ferries there.

The study likely will begin next week.

The Port of Tacoma isn’t as far along. Before the port commission approves such a study, it wants to see if enough support exists regionally to warrant it.

Since March, two port officials have met with nearly every public entity in the South and Central Sound, including Kitsap Transit. What they’ve seen is a lot of heads nodding in agreement, said Rob Collins, capital programs manager for the Port of Tacoma.

“I wouldn’t characterize anyone as ambivalent,” Collins said.

If the port does get the go-ahead, it means there will be studies of the feasibility of passenger ferries in the North, South and Central Sound.

The recently formed Passenger Only Ferry Coalition, which is staffed by the Cascadia Project [of the Discovery Institute], a Seattle think tank, is now talking about asking the Federal Transit Administration for a grant to help coordinate all these studies.

Bruce Agnew, director of Cascadia, said the intent would be to make sure that all the different areas could share information and move in a unified direction.

He said the coalition will solidify such efforts the beginning of next month when it has its first steering committee meeting.

Tacoma has a vision

Talk of foot ferries began in Tacoma about 1 1/2 years ago, when officials were revisiting the port’s long-term strategic plan.

They were brainstorming ways to better achieve the port’s goal of being an economic anchor for the area when discussion turned to passenger-only service. The boats, they figured, would not only provide a solution to commuter woes, but would encourage growth in downtown Tacoma.

They mused about where the boats could go, with runs to Olympia and Seattle serving as the two main corridors. On the way, there could be smaller stops, like Gig Harbor and Vashon Island.

“Wherever people are living and wherever they want to go, that’s where (the boats) need to be,” Collins said.

Officials recognized these were pipe dreams unless they could nail down some details. They needed answers to all the pressing questions.

What would such a system cost? Who would want it? What kind of boats would be used? What facilities should be built for the boats?

“Cost-effectiveness is key,” Collins said. “Can this be done and not be a drain on public recourses?”

They needed a study to answer these questions. But such studies are pricey and they didn’t want to go it alone. They decided to find out if other places were interested in becoming partners in the study.

Collins, along with colleague Julie Collins (no relation), went around, bending ears. They talked with the ports in Olympia, Seattle and Everett; metro, Kitsap and Pierce transit agencies; almost all the cities between Steilacoom and Lakewood; King, Kitsap and Pierce counties; and the Puget Sound Regional Council.

All said they would support a feasibility study. And they were exceedingly interested in the possibility of passenger-only ferries, Collins said.

‘Good alignment’

Vashon Island, for example, will lose its state-operated foot ferries in two years. People there have been pondering the best way to replace the boats, which provide rides for as many as 700 folks a day.

Mike Sudduth, Vashon ferry advisory committee chairman, said the island would benefit from such research.

“They are on a fact-finding mission just like we are,” he said.

Collins met with Richard Hayes, executive director of Kitsap Transit, last week to see if the two were of like minds about what a foot ferry system should like.

“It was a really good alignment at a conceptual level,” Collins said.

He, like Hayes, thinks the key to making a system work is public-private partnerships and seamless connectivity to land transportation. Also, he said, a system the port built would need to mesh with systems running elsewhere, like Bremerton.

But talking about a system is jumping the gun. For now, Collins must convince the port commission that the study should happen.

“It’s my job not to get too excited,” Collins said. “But I’m excited. I hope I can make the case.”

North Sound links

Last year, the Whatcom Council of Governments received two grants that will expedite its study of foot ferries.

One grant will continue North Sound Connecting Communities, a project that works on seamless transit links and commuter possibilities, including passenger ferries.

The other grant will specifically fund a feasibility study that looks at connecting Blaine, the Semiahmoo Peninsula and White Rock, British Columbia, via ferries.

Officials also want to study potential ridership and markets from Bellingham south to Anacortes, including the San Juan Islands, said Gordon Rogers, department director for the council.

“We hate to make the scope too enclosed,” Rogers said.

The attraction of passenger ferries there is two-fold — the San Juans are bound to Bellingham economically, yet there is no direct link there. Also, the border crossing can make what would be a 30-minute trip a two-hour wait.

Rogers said the next step for them is to hire a consultant to start the study. They want answers to all the same questions Tacoma does.

“Ultimately, this is a fact-finding mission,” Rogers said.