PORT TOWNSEND – Come June, those riding the ferry from Port Townsend to Keystone may not have to wait in line to secure a spot on the commuter vessel.
“We heard from community outreach in Port Townsend and Keystone to try a reservation system on the route,” said Ray Deardorf, Washington State Ferries planning director.
Because of comments received last fall in Port Townsend, Washington State Ferries personnel worked up a pilot program that would enable up to half of the spots for the 65 vehicles on the ferry on that route to be reserved in advance.
The proposed plan calls for a reservation fee of $10 for vehicles up to 20 feet long and $20 for vehicles longer than that.
The fee is to cover setting up and operating the reservation system, Deardorf said.
If approved, the program would begin on June 24 at the beginning of the summer schedule, Deardorf said.
Hadley Green, Washington State Ferries public outreach manager, said that the first year of the pilot program “will be a test, and we’ll be able to tweak it.”
Interested parties can comment on the plan at a public meeting from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Feb. 27 in the Fort Worden State Park Commons room B in Port Townsend.
The Port Townsend meeting is one of 11 that Washington State Ferries has scheduled between Monday and March 1 in locations it serves.
The first meeting will be at Lopez Island on Monday. Others will be at Friday Harbor, Orcas Island, Vashon Island, Bainbridge Island, Bremerton, Port Orchard, Kingston, Whidbey Island and Anacortes.
Not only is a reservation program proposed, but also a fare increase of 4 percent is on the table for public comment.
That would be collected at every ferry terminal in the state, including Port Townsend.
