WSDOT Survey - Anxiously awaiting!

Through the past 3 weeks our team has been actively promoting the WSDOT Hood Canal bridge survey.  The response we received was overwelming in favor of Port Ludlow to Kingston.

Thank you to all who were able to participate in the survey and thank you for accepting our numerous email reminders.  Through our email communication tool, we tallied of 3000 emails sent,  nearly 900 of you followed the link to the survey. 

We look forward to the results this Friday.

 Seattle2PT Campaign

Decision on ferry landing to come with survey results

By Jeff Chew, Peninsula Daily News

South Point-Lofall or Port Ludlow-Kingston?

You’ll know on Friday.

State Transportation Secretary Paula Hammond, after reviewing results of an online public poll, will decide Friday whether six-week passenger ferry service when the Hood Canal Bridge is severed next year will run from South Point to Lofall or Port Ludlow to Kingston.

The survey — asking the public which location is better — closed at midnight last Friday with nearly 4,000 responding, said Becky Hixson, Hood Canal Bridge project business manager.  <…read full article>

The creators of Seattle2PT have launched Jefferson County 2.0 beta! 

With the success of Seattle2PT bringing our community together, we would like to help support the rest of the campaigns in our community by providing a social network platform and the tools needed to run a successful campaign.

In this environment, people can login and voice their support for a particular campaign, volunteer their time or stay connected and up-to-date.

Currently in beta, we are open to suggestions as which tools you may need and or campaigns you would like to have added to the site.  Login and check it out!

 Go here -> Jefferson County 2.0 beta 

Caldwell visits Port Ludlow Chamber Wednesday to talk about support for businesses during bridge closure

Port Townsend Chamber of Commerce General Manager Tim Caldwell appears as guest speaker at Wednesday’s Port Ludlow Chamber of Commerce meeting to discuss economic strategies for supporting area businesses during next year’s scheduled Hood Canal Bridge closure.

The luncheon meeting is held at 11:45 a.m. on Wednesday, June 4 at the Harbormaster Restaurant, 55 Heron Road, Port Ludlow. Caldwell also plans to give an update on the new Port Townsend-Keystone auto ferry reservation system. All Port Ludlow Chamber luncheons are open to the public.

Cost for the lunch is $12, and attendees are encouraged to bring a guest and arrive early to take part in the pre-lunch networking. Those interested should RSVP by emailing chamber@portludlowchamber.org.

This afternoon, Tim Caldwell, general manager of the Port Townsend Chamber of Commerce provided Seattle2PT with a comparison chart for the options being weighed in by the WSDOT.

In correspondence via email, Tim went on to say “The Port Ludlow-Kingston POF option answers two significant objectives: with fewer conveyance transfers, it will be less cumbersome for the traveler to get across Hood Canal, and any savings in the construction/removal of the temporary infrastructure could be re-appropriated to fund a Port Townsend-Edmonds auto ferry.”

Due to the recent decision by the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) to forego constructing a temporary passenger-only ferry (POF) terminal at Port Gamble as part of its bridge closure mitigation plan, two options are now under review to mitigate the May-June, 2009 bridge closure.

Hood Canal Bridge Closure Mitigation Options, May 28, 2008

 WSDOT Hood Canal Bridge Water Shuttle Questionnaire

The Seattle2PT campaign working with local officals, has submitted a letter of support for an alternate passenger route during the closure of the Hood Canal Bridge.

The current proposal would cost the state 8 million dollars to build infrastructure for a PO ferry between Lofall and Port Gamble. We think this is a waste of money and an alternate between Jefferson County and Kitsap Co directly is the more sensible option and would cost little or no money.

In response, WSDOT has posted an online survey, be sure to take a few minutes and voice your opinion.

Online Survey Here:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=niDOjW1EAfF7bx4EgMu8cg_3d_3d

Day 948 of Kingston Held Hostage.

Kingston Express Digest - No. 138 – May 26, 2008

By KOMO Staff & Seattle Weekly

Watch the story

SEATTLE — There’s a new twist to the state’s ferry fiasco.

The passenger-only ferry Chinook, which was listed on eBay on two different occasions and each time failed to get any bids, could actually bet put back in service at a much lower cost than what the ferry system first projected.

The state’s $4.5 million starting bid for the ferry failed to entice anyone on the online auction site. But it appears the ferry could be put back in service at a much lower cost.

Lawmakers were told to pull the ferries Chinook and Snohomish out of service because the side-loading boats are incompatible with all but one dock - Pier 50 in Seattle - in the system.

Since then the Snohomish has been retrofitted to work as a replacement ferry, but not the Chinook.

 Read the full Article on Komo Website: http://www.komotv.com/news/16805196.html

Day 885 of Kingston Held Hostage.

Kingston Express Digest - No. 128 – March 17, 2008

After reading this weeks Kingston Express publication, here is another update on HB 2730!

House Bill 2730 passed the Senate 41 to 6 and awaits signature by the Governor, which is likely.  Earlier it passed the House unanimously.  All the ferry district people supported it.  The only legislators opposed were Senators Benton, Carrell, Honeyford, Roach, Schoesler, and Stevens.  Only Senator Benton is on the Transportation Committee.

Congratulations to the Port of Kingston and our 23rdrd district Representative Christine Rolfes who prime sponsored the bill.  The bill allows Port Districts to operate foot ferries in Puget Sound.  Significantly, it requires WSF to collaborate with them on use of dock facilities (like Pier 51 in downtown Seattle), and makes port districts eligible for grants from the passenger ferry account.  The grants would be funded by the sale of the WSF Chinook and Snohomish foot ferries, and the Skagit and Kalama foot ferries when WSF turns over the Vashon POF route to King County.

The process of getting the bill approved was a great opportunity for educating the legislators about the Port of Kingston foot ferry project.  The bill is an example of how legislating in small bites, with simple bills, can achieve more than grand sweeping bills that try to reorganize everything.

The 2008 legislative session is scheduled to end this Thursday, March 13, 2008.  A lot of surprising things can happen in the closing days of a session.  It will be interesting to see what passes and what gets funded when it is all over.  The bills Kitsap Transit is supporting to allow a foot ferry sub-district are likely dead because they were not voted out of committee by the cut-off dates. The bills would have authorized the Kitsap Transit board to levy a new sales tax, in effect covering the entire county, but with only part of the county allowed to vote on it. - Nels Sultan (Kingston Express Assoc.)