Short of both money and boats, officials with Washington’s ferry system discussed May 20 the troubled future of the long-sought Edmonds Crossing project.
A vision first hatched in the early 1990s, Edmonds Crossing would move one of the state’s busiest ferry terminals away from downtown, unclogging busy streets. It would also coordinate bus, train, commuter rail and ferry traffic.
Very little of the proposed $263 million for the multimodal project, however, has been budgeted by any government entity.
Now, with no back up boats in Puget Sound, and an increasingly worried public, Washington State Ferries are being forced to re-evaluate and cut costs for projects like the Edmonds Crossing.
“We are very much looking to pare way down the cost,” said John White, director of WSF terminal engineering. “We need to tell the governor’s office and the Legislature what the bottom line is.”
Earlier designs for terminal projects were created to solve problems 50 to 75 years away. WSF’s ambitions are smaller and more immediate now, White told the City Council.
While some of the state’s six to seven proposed major terminal improvements could be cancelled entirely, that isn’t likely in Edmonds, which hosts more vehicles than any other terminal in Washington, White said.
The specific cost-saving measures could include reducing holding lane capacity, which could further allow cost-saving site reconfigurations, White said.
WSF could also reduce the number of ferry slips from three slips to two, or even one, he said.
“Until you have another boat on the route, or three boats, you don’t have the immediate need,” he said. “It becomes an issue of what is most important.”
Thinking smaller, and cheaper, was hailed by Councilmember Steve Bernheim, but criticized by other Edmonds officials.
The wall of vehicle traffic that separates downtown Edmonds from its beautiful waterfront is a problem that needs a solution, said Councilmember Deanna Dawson.
“We have been promised this solution for decades,” she said. “I think we need to continue looking at a multimodal facility that will accomplish that dream in Edmonds.”
The unique traffic problems posed by Burlington-Northern Sante Fe’s railroad tracks impose unusual challenges in Edmonds, said David Mosley, the newly hired ferries chief. Train traffic will grow dramatically in the coming years, as BNSF plans to double its track capacity.
“We are fully aware of the impact (the terminal) has on this community,” Mosley said.
Still, the ferry system is in the middle of a long-term financing plan that will help stabilize the system’s long-term future, he said.
The results of the planning process will be presented to the governor and the public in December.
Until then, at least, WSF’s priorities will be boat related, Mosley said. Designing new boats and maintaining the current ones are chief concerns, he said.
Reporter Chris Fyall: 425-673-6525 or cfyall@heraldnet.com
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