Ranker: Decision to Re-Route Anacortes Ferry to Edmonds “Short-Sighted”

— from Aaron Wasser —

Sen. Kevin Ranker, D-Orcas Island, released the statement below Thursday morning urging Washington State Ferries to reverse its decision to move a ferry from the Sidney route to replace a broken down ferry in another route:

“I have nothing but sympathy for our fellow ferry commuters south of us; we know all too well the frustration, negative economic impact and wasted time that comes from delayed ferry service.

“There are major differences, however, that make this decision by senior administration at Washington State Ferries disappointing and short-sighted. First, while our friends to the south are experiencing significant and unacceptable delays, they at least still have service. The removal of this vessel from the Anacortes/Sidney Route does not just cause horrible delays, it cancels the entire route! Let me be clear, there will be no service between Anacortes and Sidney for at least two days. This at the beginning of not only a busy, sunny summer weekend, but on the weekend of the 53rd annual Anacortes Art Festival – the biggest economic driver in the city every year.

“The idea that we would cancel an entire run – that already had reservations – and severely impact state and local commerce, demonstrates a total lack of understanding of the economic drivers that depend upon this service.

“Historically, when a ferry is down elsewhere in the system, replacement ferries have come from the San Juan route. During the winter, while there is an impact, I have supported these decisions, because we have lower ridership and can – for the most part – absorb the impact. In the summer however, this is not the case. To simply end the Sidney run during an extremely busy and economically lucrative part of the year is, quite frankly, irresponsible.

“As frustrating as this is, after speaking with Transportation Secretary Lynn Peterson, I am confident that together with Representatives Jeff Morris and Kris Lytton we can work with the Secretary to ensure the development of a processes that will allow us to be prepared for problems and have appropriate and thoughtful strategies in place to get out in front of a potential crisis.”

“Finally, the fact that we have more and more vessels out of service is a clear indicator that we must move quickly to complete construction of the three new 144 car ferries. Even more to the point, however, is that this further underscores the critical need for the legislature to pass a transportation package that will improve our clearly struggling ferry system as well as other sorely needed infrastructure improvements throughout our state.”