If you’re an Uber driver, get ready to work some long hours but make some big bucks Sept. 7-13.
That’s when Washington State Ferries is going to stop allowing vehicles on the Bainbridge Island-Seattle route for a $33 million project replacing the 50-year-old overhead passenger walkway on BI. Folks on both sides of the water are going to need transportation to and from the docks as only walk-ons will be accepted those six days.
John Vezina of WSF told the BI City Council June 13 there will be only one boat on the route instead of the usual two. He said the other might be going to either Kingston or Bremerton as commuters who need to drive likely will use one of those routes instead. “We know it’s a big deal. We’re trying to be as good a partner as possible,” he said.
Councilmembers support the construction, and emphasized getting the word out to riders. Joe Deets suggested start letting riders know now as they are the ones who likely will be using it three months from now. “We think people know, but that’s not always the case,” he said of the council’s personal experience. He and others wished bicyclists could continue to use the ferry as BI encourages that so much as a transportation option.
Deets suggested using an emergency lane being set up. But Vezina explained that’s for rare medical emergencies. It would be too dangerous for bicyclists to use on an ongoing basis. And with more people walking on, there will be no room for bikes on the passenger entryway.
Vezina said people will be able to bike to the ferry and walk on. There are spots for 112 bikes at the Kitsap Transit Bike Barn on BI, and WSF is trying to find places for bikes at Colman Dock in Seattle, too. “Someone’s going to get hurt when you mix those two things,” Vezina said, adding safety is WSF’s top priority. “This is really heavy trestle work.”
He said a massive barge will bring the walkways to BI. They weigh 90 tons and are 190 feet long and 18 feet wide. The staging area will be just off where vehicles normally drive on and off the ferries and up to where they normally park when waiting for a vessel.
As a result, ferry parking lots will be used for the 24% of riders who plan to be dropped off before walking on. Vezina is concerned about the 38% who still plan to drive. “Those who plan to drive and park will likely have a difficult time” finding a spot to park, he said.
Vezina suggested trying mass transit. “If there ever was a time you thought of trying public transit this would be it.” Work from home if that is an option, he said, adding other methods could include a water taxi or King County Metro. Vezina said he doesn’t want people to think “government doesn’t care. WSF’s “focus is door to door not shore to shore.”
Despite their best planning, WSF knows there will be issues because a lot is going on that week. The University of Washington football Huskies have a home game, as do the Seattle Seahawks, Storm and Mariners. And Lionel Richie has a concert in Seattle.
Mayor Brenda Fantroy-Johnson said WSF should focus on the benefits of the work. She said she hasn’t experienced an earthquake here yet, but she’d hate to be waiting on the ferry walkway went it started swaying.
Councilmember Leslie Schneider suggested maybe it won’t be as bad as people think. She recalled when she went to the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles there was so much “advance notice on how awful it would be that no one was on the highway that week.”
Police station
Also at the meeting, the council agreed to spend $600,000 to demolish the police station at 625 Winslow Way to pave the way for an affordable housing project in the future. Police will vacate that site in the fall when they move to the new Ted Spearman Justice Center at 8804 Madison Ave.
Deets suggested rather than throwing demolition materials into a dump truck and taking it to a landfill that the city try to reuse as much of it as possible. City manager Blair King said BI likes to go with the low bidder, but it will encourage that company to recycle.
There was also some discussion about temporary landscaping that will be put in place after demolition and before an affordable housing project begins. Some big ideas were brought forward.
But King was reluctant to do much, based on past experience. For example, after a dog park put in such an area for six months a strong effort was made to make it permanent, putting their long-term plan in jeopardy. “Let’s not make it difficult to do affordable housing in the future. Let’s be skillful about creating a temporary benefit.”
Suyematsu Day
Also, the council denied a request for $2,000 from the city’s Historic Preservation Commission for Akio Suyematsu Day Aug. 20, which it hopes to make an annual event.
While they all support the event, “$2,000 is way out of line for this,” Deets said. “It’s a nice event, but hardly anyone was there” last year—less than 10 people. King said much of the money would go for promotion, including $1,300 for two giant banners. Councilmember Clarence Moriwaki said he couldn’t support that expense for such limited use.
Deputy mayor Jon Quitslund said he couldn’t support it because the Suyematsu Farm Legacy Alliance wasn’t even involved. Fantroy-Johnson suggested the commission work with the alliance and others on the event. It feels like we’re “trying to make this on the fly.”
Public comment
Dick Haugen, a candidate for City Council, said he wants to use this venue to share his ideas with voters. He said many on the council ran for office as supporters of the environment, yet only 1% of the capital budget is spent on decreasing problems caused by stormwater runoff. He said the city’s Comprehensive Plan, “your bible,” requires investments to clean stormwater. He called pollution on BI caused by stormwater “nasty.”
Other comments were about the city’s bias toward lowering the speed limits on BI despite not making a good case that there was a safety problem. Another complaint was about how bad the city was in responding to a citizen’s concern.
