Everett, Wash.
Published: Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Ferry towns shouldn't pay for state's mistakes

 It's state government's job to keep its ferry routes running. Those who depend on them, including tourism-dependent businesses in Port Townsend and central Whidbey Island, shouldn't settle for less -- not even for a few months.

The indefinite closure of car-ferry service between Port Townsend on the Olympic Peninsula and Keystone on Whidbey Island mustn't be allowed to stretch into months or years. That could be a death sentence to businesses that are already feeling the effects of passenger traffic that's off by 80 percent or more since the leaky, 80-year-old vessels that served the route were tied up two days before Thanksgiving.

After a meeting Monday of legislative transportation leaders, it's clear that there's no appetite for spending more money on repairs to the old Steel Electric ferries. Closer inspections have revealed extensive deterioration in one of the vessels' steel hulls, and similar damage is expected to be found in the other three. The only real surprise is that anyone was surprised by what was found. When these boats were built, Ford was still producing the Model T.

It was the state's own mismanagement and lack of basic planning that kept these relics working past their useful lifetimes, and it is now incumbent on the state to minimize the economic damage. In the immediate future, that means adding a temporary run between Port Townsend and another port -- perhaps Edmonds -- an option that's being discussed. But it also means addressing the needs of residents and businesses in the Coupeville and Oak Harbor areas by finding a car ferry that's nimble enough to navigate shallow, narrow Keystone harbor until permanent replacements can be built and delivered. A one-, two- or three-year wait for that is unacceptable.

Ferry routes are part of the state highway system. This closure should be treated with as much urgency as a collapsed bridge on a major highway. Businesses were established and communities expanded on the implicit promise that the state would maintain the Port Townsend-Keystone run, and that promise must be kept. The state appears to have options, such as borrowing a reserve ferry from Pierce County until new vessels are ready.

What is not an option is leaving central Whidbey Island or the northern Olympic Peninsula high and dry for much longer. The state created this problem; it's the state's responsibility to solve it.
© 2009The Daily Herald Co., Everett, WA