SEQUIM — Concluding that no weekend is good for closing the Hood Canal Bridge during the peak tourist season, a group of Peninsula tourism leaders on Thursday urged two 78-hour traffic closures on weekdays in May, June or September instead.
The Olympic Peninsula Joint Marketing Committee’s recommendations — contrary to state-proposed weekend work dates in August and September — will be mailed to state Department of Transportation officials for their consideration.
Copies will also go to Peninsula government entities and 24th District state lawmakers to encourage their support.
“Hopefully, they will understand that they owe us,” said Russ Veenema, the Chamber of Commerce executive director in Port Angeles, where the state in December shut down the Hood Canal Bridge graving yard project.
As the luncheon meeting at Petals Garden Restaurant opened late Thursday morning, Veenema said: “I’m going to be strongly opposed to (closure) being on a weekend.”
Preparing the bridge
In preparing for the 1.5-mile floating bridge’s east-half reconstruction project, now likely in 2009, state Transportation officials say two 78-hour weekend closures are necessary.
State transportation officials have proposed Aug. 5-7 and Sept. 9-11 as dates for reconstruction work.
Veenema said during August and September, lodging occupancies across the Peninsula ranged from 80 percent to more than 90 percent.
He urged the group to state its case to the state in terms of severe economic losses.
For example, he said, the average visitor spends between $95 and $120 a night on lodging.
Then multiply that by 1,000 to 1,200 rooms “and you see the economic impact on lodging.”
Then, add to that the lost of the average individual spending $120 a day “and you have a huge impact on tourism.”
Agreeing, Port Townsend Chamber of Commerce general manager Tim Caldwell said: “We can state our case for what it’s going to cost us, but we need to offer a solution.”
After deliberations, 11 chamber and tourism committee members agreed to proposed:
* The weekdays of May 16-19 and May 23-26 as their first choice.
* The weekdays of June 20-23 and June 13-16 as their second choice.
* And the weekdays of Sept. 19-22 and Sept. 26-29 as their third choice.
The committee will not propose any weekend dates to the state.
