| HeraldNet - Snohomish County's online news source |
 THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2009 9:43 am |
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Local News 
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A long, frustrating drive Detours a burden for many ferry riders KINGSTON -- Riders on an early-morning ferry run from Kingston to Edmonds on Wednesday voiced frustration with long detours caused by the state's decision to pull from service four of its oldest boats.Service was halted Tuesday evening on the run between Keystone on Whidbey Island and Port Townsend on the Olympic Peninsula. That forced travelers on the day before Thanksgiving -- traditionally the busiest travel day of the year -- to spend even more time on the road. Some were surprised. Some were angry. Others raised questions about the timing of the state's decision. "Why did they wait so long to do something about it?" Ken Stanfill asked. "They've been having problems for so long." Stanfill and his wife, Mary, who live near Sequim, said their trip to Sedro-Woolley will now take hours longer and mean more driving on congested stretches of I-5. Until Wednesday, the Stanfills could take a ferry from the Olympic Peninsula to Whidbey Island and drive north to Skagit County to visit their daughter. Passenger-only ferry service, using a boat the state had planned to sell on eBay, may begin Friday between Whidbey and Port Townsend. State Transportation Secretary Paula Hammond ordered the state's four 80-year-old Steel Electric-class ferries to be docked indefinitely in response to concerns over cracks, leaks and corrosion. About 1,000 cars and 350 walk-ons travel on the Keystone-to-Port Townsend route each day. Hammond said she shut down the Steel Electrics -- the Klickitat, Quinault, Illahee and Nisqually -- after discussing with ferry officials problems with 1927-vintage steel plates along the Quinault's keel. Inspections by ferry crews found extensive pitting on the Quinault's hull plates. Some people inconvenienced by detours weren't convinced of the urgency. Brian Pouillon, who faced long delays while trying to get back to his home in the San Juan Islands after spending a night in Port Townsend, said he believes safety wasn't the main motivation for yanking the ferries. Instead, he said he believes the ferry system shut down the ferries on Thanksgiving week to gain public support for expensive repairs or replacement. "I think the timing is political," Pouillon said. "They need new ferries, but this is a poor way to do it." Even with passenger-ferry service, hundreds of travelers will have to drive around Puget Sound or take an hours-long detour on the Edmonds-Kingston and Mukilteo-Clinton routes. There will be no car ferry service to Port Townsend for the foreseeable future. For people such as Shellie Lohneis of Forks, who stuffed her three kids, luggage and pet beagle into a minivan for a visit to family in Marblemount, a passenger-only ferry won't help much. Lohneis learned early Wednesday of the closure, which tacked an additional 70 miles to her trip, and forced her to drive southeast to Kingston, then to backtrack north on I-5. "It's not like I can call my family members and say, 'Meet me at the Keystone Ferry and I'll just walk across,' " she said. Jill Johnson, executive director of the Greater Oak Harbor Chamber of Commerce, said the business community was caught off guard. "Closing down the route now before Thanksgiving, to do that without a backup plan, was at best, poor planning," Johnson said. Many people depend on ferries to reach places such as Whidbey Island Naval Air Station and Whidbey General Hospital. Ferries are vital to the local economy, keeping commercial trucks and tourists moving. "When you are on an island, the ferry system is as important as I-5 to Seattle," Johnson said. The Snohomish, a walk-on only ferry, could begin running the route at 6:30 a.m. on Friday. The Snohomish will then provide service every 90 minutes until 9:15 p.m. daily. Crews were working Wednesday to ready the vessel for a return to service after an extended time dockside, said Marta Coursey, communications director for the ferry system. Sarah Richards, president of the Central Whidbey Chamber of Commerce in Coupeville, said she expects fewer tourists. "It's not a significant tourism season, but still there's a lot of tourism going on," she said. Employees with P&L General Contractors in Oak Harbor often travel to Bremerton on the Kitsap Peninsula to work on construction projects. Crews typically travel from Keystone to Port Townsend, then drive to Bremerton. Now, they must drive to Clinton to catch a ferry to Mukilteo and head south to the Edmonds-Kingston route, burning up more gas and spending extra hours on the road. Jeff Wallin, vice president of the company with about 30 employees, said he's concerned about how long it will take before car-ferries return to the Keystone-to-Port Townsend route. He wishes the state had a backup plan in place. "It's disappointing," Wallin said. Coupeville Mayor Nancy Conard said she learned about the state's decision on Tuesday. Hammond called her in the evening. So did Sen. Mary Margaret Haugen, D-Camano Island, chairwoman of the Senate Transportation Committee. The mayor appreciated their courtesy. Nonetheless, closing down the ferry route could hit the small island town hard, Conard said. "A portion of our town is very tourism-oriented," she said. Reporter David Chircop: 425-339-3429 or dchircop@heraldnet.com. |
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