BLYN — It was a day rich with ideas for close-to-home adventures at the Olympic Peninsula Tourism Summit at the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribal Center.
From Port Townsend to Neah Bay and from Sequim lavender farms to Twilight tour guides in Forks, the North Olympic Peninsula’s attractions unfurled at Wednesday’s conference — and participating business people looked ahead to an event that will challenge them to share information.
That event is the closure of the Hood Canal Bridge, an aorta to the Peninsula, on May 1, 2009.
The closure is expected to last for six weeks while the bridge’s eastern half and transition trusses are replaced.
The overhaul will make the bridge wider and safer, according to its caretaker, the state Department of Transportation.
For the 20,000 vehicles that cross the bridge daily, there will be four other ways to travel on and off the Peninsula, said Betty Hixson, the tourism summit’s luncheon speaker and the communications manager for the Hood Canal Bridge Team.
• A traveler can fly to Seattle on Kenmore Air out of William G. Fair¬child International Airport. Round-trip fares start at about $120.
Hixson said that’s not a daily option for many people.
• Another option is to drive to a park-and-ride lot on this side of the bridge and board one of the passenger-only water shuttles Transportation will provide.
A transit bus will take travelers to the dock, and Clallam, Jefferson and Kitsap counties will be coordinating such trips, Hixson said.
• A person also can take the Port Townsend ferry to Keystone, and “with the new reservations system, there’s more predictability,” she added.
• The final option is driving south of U.S. Highway 101, all the way around the Hood Canal. The journey will take at least an hour longer than crossing the bridge.
One tourism-industry leader sought to look at the bright side. “The drive is really very pretty,” said Russ Veenema, executive director of the Port Angeles Regional Chamber of Commerce.
“People are making it a little bit bigger deal than it has to be . . . It’s not that bad if you’ve planned on it.”
Discussion sessions
Veenema plans a bridge-closure brainstorming session for North Olympic Peninsula business people in a week. The session will be at 1 p.m. next Thursday in the Port Angeles City Council Chambers, 321 E. Fifth St.
A round table discussion, presenting what large businesses have done to prepare for the bridge closure, is scheduled at 1 p.m. Friday at the Washington State University Learning Center, 201 W. Patison, Port Hadlock.
The free round table will conclude with an opportunity for members of the public, including small business owners, to ask questions about what should be done to be ready for the closure.
At the Port Angeles meeting next Thursday, Veenema wants to talk about promotional packages to attract visitors during the six-week shutdown, and how to keep people coming to events such as the Sequim Irrigation Festival in early May and the North Olympic Discovery Marathon on the weekend of June 7.
Marathon organizers opted to hold the race, which runs from Sequim to Port Angeles, during the bridge closure to stimulate travel onto the Peninsula, Hixson added.
“If we can be creative, we might be able to do more [water] shuttles for event participants,” said Veenema.
Next Thursday’s gathering will last an hour to 90 minutes, and Transportation will send a representative, he said.
The key to thriving in spite of the closure, both Hixson and Veenema believe, is talking to everybody about it.
Share information
“Everyone in this room can share information about the closure. Think through your options now,” said Hixson.
Then she gave advice that works whether the bridge is open or closed: “Leave early. Put in some cushion time,” to make driving less stressful.
Transportation will install Web cameras on the highways around the canal, so travelers can use the Internet to see how much traffic is on their routes.
Hixson urges frequent visits to www.HoodCanalBridge.com.
Transportation also has a toll-free information line, 1-877-595-4222, with staff people who will help with trip planning as the closure nears.
Veenema added some advice to hoteliers and tour operators who book reservations before or during the closure period.
“Let your guests know what’s going on, so they’re not surprised,” he said.
Upcoming events
Also during Wednesday’s tourism summit, industry professionals highlighted some of this fall’s events and places of interest.
The Jamestown S’Klallam tribe will offer a totem pole tour from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday, said the tribe’s Eric Adams. For reservations, phone 360-681-4606.
The Makah Cultural and Research Center’s museum doesn’t close when wintry weather comes. It’s open seven days a week, year round, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., said Meredith Parker, president of the board of trustees.
Construction of the rock walls along Hurricane Ridge Road is almost finished, and this Friday the road will be completely open, said Olympic National Park spokeswoman Barb Maynes.
A ribbon cutting is slated for Nov. 7.
“Go to the movies on Nov. 21,” said Mike Gurling, manager of the Forks Chamber of Commerce Visitor Center.
That’s opening night for “Twilight,” the motion picture inspired by Stephenie Meyer’s best-selling series of novels set in Forks.
Twilight and the ensuing sequels have sparked a 48 percent uptick in the number of people who come to stay overnight in the timber town, Gurling said.
“Read the book. It gives you the opportunity to speak Twilight talk with the visitors who come to your hotel,” Veenema added.
The summit drew 120 attendees together for such networking, and the nation’s economic crisis didn’t seem to dim the atmosphere.
“We’re just ecstatic,” about the number of people gathered at the Tribal Center, Veenema said.
“This is by far our best turnout yet.”
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Sequim-Dungeness Valley Editor Diane Urbani de la Paz can be reached at 360-681-2391 or at diane.urbani@peninsuladailyews.com.
