PORT TOWNSEND – The attentive might have heard a collective sigh of relief in Port Townsend on Thursday when the Snohomish passenger ferry began making runs from Port Townsend to Seattle.
Washington State Ferries officials decided to run the Snohomish four times a day each way from Port Townsend to Seattle, and run the Port Townsend-based Puget Sound Express’ 49-seat Olympas passenger ferry from Hudson Point to Kingston on Whidbey Island.
And local officials are breathing easier.
Tim Caldwell, Port Townsend Chamber of Commerce general manager, said the changes will revitalize local business, which had been depressed since vehicle ferry service was stopped on Nov. 20.
That is when state Transportation Secretary Paula Hammond idled the 80-year-old Steel Electrics, the four of which are the only vehicle ferries in the state system that can negotiate the narrow Keystone harbor.
“Absolutely, this will work,” Caldwell said.
“Our job now is to make sure people in Seattle and on the I-5 corridor know about this.”
The word had apparently not spread as of Thursday afternoon.
