Ferry Petition Circulates — Send Signatures by Dec. 30

A petition to “develop an effective, reliable ferry system” that eliminates recent cuts, provides a sustainable source of revenue for building new ferries, addresses efficient refurbishing of the system and develops sustainable funding for ferry operations.

The petition, which can be viewed and printed out for signature collection at https://sjiferrygroup.files.wordpress.com/2010/12/revfcppetition.pdf reads:

We, the undersigned, residents of Washington adamantly oppose the reductions in ferry service in response to the Governor’s demand to cut the budget. Service reduction will severely impact ferry-dependent riders, businesses and communities as well as adversely affect our state economy.

“It is time for the Executive and the Legislative Branches to face this issue head-on and develop an effective, reliable ferry system to continue to meet the needs of its customers and Washington State. To this end, we the undersigned petition the Governor and the Legislature to act during the 2011 Legislative Session to:

• Dispense with further cuts in service and take action to refurbish the system so it can efficiently meet the needs of its customers;
• Provide a permanent source of equitable statewide funding for building vessels;
• Start building the 144 as soon as possible in 2012 to provide a replacement or backup boat of adequate power and capacity to our aging fleet;
• Develop a sustainable, long term budget for WSF that caps fares at reasonable rates for ferry customers and which considers the economic and social impacts;

The petition can be found at sjiferrygroup.files.wordpress.com/2010/12/revfcppetition.pdf.Copies may be printed out and circulated for signatures. Please mail signed petitions by December 30 to:

Susan Young, SJIs Ferry Group
78 Snowberry Lane
Lopez, WA  98261

Two groups are heading up the petition process:

1) the Ferry Community Partnership (sjiferrygroup.wordpress.com/2010/12/15/helpneeded/

2) the San Juan Islands Ferry Group (sjiferrygroup.wordpress.com). The San Juan Islands Ferry Group consists of residents of the San Juan Islands who want to be informed about current issues related to the ferry system and who want to work with the Ferry Advisory Council (FAC) and the Washington State Ferry system (WSF) to find solutions to ongoing challenges.

“We recognize that it is more productive to be part of the solution
than to sit on the sidelines and criticize. The site is a place to find links to reports and other pertinent documents as well as information about local meetings related to the ferry system. This is also a place to ask questions and to provide feedback to representatives of the FAC.”