COUPEVILLE — Keystone Harbor on Whidbey Island will be the primary topic of concern for the chairman of the Jefferson County Ferry Advisory Committee when Washington State Ferries conducts a community meeting in Coupeville on Wednesday.
“Of particular importance is the issue of Keystone Harbor and its limitations,” said Tom Thiersch, who will attend the meeting, in an email.
“Because of the constraints of Keystone Harbor, WSF cannot use any vessels other than the 64-car ferries for our route,” the Port Townsend-Coupeville route, Thiersch said, “the frequency of sailings can’t be increased, and the number of vessels in use can’t be increased beyond the current two-boat service; these constraints will, over time, limit the ability of WSF to meet the projected 50-percent increase in demand.”
The harbor has had three vessel groundings in the past two years.
“There’s obviously no room for a larger boat and there’s only one slip at the dock,” Thiersch said, and “navigation in/out is very challenging because of the tidal current that flows across the mouth of the harbor, which leads to dozens of cancelled sailings each year.”
Thiersch said that state ferries personnel plan to address the problems in the next biennium — not the one debated this legislative session — and the subject will be part of the discussion that will begin at 6 p.m. Wednesday in the Island County commissioners hearing room, 1 NE Seventh St., Coupeville.
The Coupeville meeting is one of nine the state will host. Meetings begin Monday and also will be hosted in Kingston, Bremerton, Bainbridge Island, Anacorte, Eastsound, Port Orchard, Mukilteo and Vashon Island.
The state is hosting meetings at only one end of chosen routes and is alternating meeting locations from one year to the next, Thiersch said.
Topics at the meetings will include proposed changes to passenger fares, implementation of the state ferry system’s 2040 Long Range Plan (LRP) and issues and projects specific to each route, the state ferries system said in a press release.
“We not only want to provide excellent service, we want to be good neighbors to the communities we serve,” said WSF Assistant Secretary Amy Scarton.
“I’m looking forward to sharing what’s ahead for the future of ferries and hearing from our customers about how we can continue to improve.”
Each meeting will include a brief presentation followed by an opportunity for members of the public to ask questions or comment.
The full LRP can be found at www.wsdot.wa.gov/ferries/planning/ long-range-plan/the-plan.
The page related to Keystone Harbor proposes near-term, medium-term and long-term plans for the Port Townsend-Coupeville route.
In the near term, the state proposes extending each service day of the second vessel by one round trip this year and. in 2020, expanding hours.
No service enhancements are proposed for the medium term, but the state plans to perform a study of the terminal and possible harbor improvements to increase reliability. It also plans preservation projects for the 2027-29 biennium for the trestle and bridge structures at Port Townsend.
Long-term goals are to convert ferry vessels to electric-hybrid propulsion in 2032 and 2033 and make improvements at both terminals to support the change. The state also plans to extend the second boat operation into the early spring in 2028.
