— from Heidi Lindberg —

I’d like to point out what appears to be unconscionable folly in the proposed reservation system for the Washington State Ferries San Juan Islands’ ferry routes.

The thinking seems to be that reservations work on other ferry routes so it will be a great addition to the SJ routes and appears to be a done deal at this point. It looks on the surface to be a great idea–no more waiting in long lines and there will be increased traffic which will bring in more desperately-needed revenue.

The implication is that with a reservation everyone is assured a place in line. (Not mentioned is the fact that there are already four-hour waits between ferries, even during the heaviest traffic times, and the ferries can carry only so many cars with or without reservations.)

However, with the cutbacks to the ferries, where the money is going to come from to get the reservation system in place? Will it be taken from areas that are needed to keep the ferries operating satisfactorily? The necessary extra help at the landings won’t be there.

I don’t think people are realizing how difficult this system will be for the attendants which will then affect everyone trying to get onto the ferry when they think it will be so easy with “no waiting!”  It will be horrendous and the ones who will take all the grief will be the attendants, not the ones who dreamed this up.

I’ve become aware of almost 40 potential glitches that will cause havoc and hardship for most everyone affected by this plan if it’s implemented. A petition has been started from Friday Harbor which is gathering speed, but more exposure is needed. The San Juan Islanders are small potatoes in the eyes of the state ferry officials and they haven’t made provisions for the 40 concerns I’ve alluded to.

The best thing would be for the islanders to have reservations on every ferry before anyone!!  We want to get home and use our “roads” just like the mainlanders have access to their roads to get to their homes.

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