PORT ANGELES — The tourist season in Port Angeles opened in grand fashion Saturday with a ceremony celebrating both the grand opening of the MV Coho ferry terminal and a newly completed stretch of sidewalk running along the south side of West Railroad Avenue.
Business owners, passers-by and officials from the city, Port of Port Angeles and Black Ball Ferry Line — an estimated 75 people in all — turned out under overcast skies and just the slightest drizzling of rain to celebrate the grand openings.
“I want to say thank you to the local business who have put up with this construction for so long,” said Ryan Malane, marketing director for Black Ball Ferry Line, which operates the Coho, during the ceremony.
Construction on the privately funded concrete dock, a $4 million project that replaced an aging pier, started last fall alongside the city’s $3.9 million esplanade project, which, in addition to improving the sidewalk along the south side of West Railroad Avenue, will add a concrete promenade extending over the water on the north side of Railroad.
Limited access
“You can get there from here,” said Greg Scherer, owner of Pacific Rim Hobby at 138 W. Railroad Ave, referring to his business.
Access to Scherer’s shop had been limited since October, when the city closed West Railroad Avenue for the esplanade project.
Jack Cox, chairman and CEO of Black Ball Ferry Line, thanked both the city and the Port of Port Angeles for their cooperation in helping to keep the ferry line in Port Angeles.
The ferry line leases the ferry terminal site from the port under a 30-year agreement.
“The Black Ball will be here until you build the bridge [between Port Angeles and Victoria],” Cox said, receiving laughs and cheers from the crowd.
Mayor Cherie Kidd said the ferry terminal’s grand opening Saturday was just one piece of a long-standing partnership between the city and ferry line that has benefited both.
“We are true partners,” Kidd said. “True partners for 53 years.”
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Reporter Jeremy Schwartz can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5074, or at jschwartz@peninsuladailynews.com.
