PORT TOWNSEND — Concerns about environmental issues and additional traffic in the downtown area were raised Wednesday night during a meeting about proposed changes to improve ferry service between Port Townsend and Keystone.
A panel of ferry service planners, captains and engineers hosted a public meeting at the Pope Marine Park Building to air plans costing as much as $130 million.
State officials want to relocate the terminal at Keystone, expand the Port Townsend terminal and build four 130-vehicle vessels, one of which will serve the local route.
The proposed changes to the service, which include moving the Keystone landing to a new location and using larger ferries, are aimed at reducing the number of sailings that are canceled each year.
Ferry system officials are looking at two locations east of the current Keystone terminal or deepening and widening the current harbor.
Ray Deardorf, planning director for the ferry system said more than 100 sailings are canceled yearly because of wind, low tides, strong currents or fog.
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The rest of the story appears in Thursday’s Peninsula Daily News Jefferson County edition.
