WSF Update | Community meetings, Orca action month, closures (not SJs), a kudo

||| FROM PATTY RUBSTELLO for WASHINGTON STATE FERRIES |||

Three down, three more virtual community meetings

We’re at the halfway point of our spring series of six virtual community meetings with our local Ferry Advisory Committees! Each session focuses on a particular route or two. Our fourth meeting is tonight for people interested in our Edmonds/Kingston run. The final two are next week. Seattle/Bremerton is Tuesday, June 6. Wednesday, June 7, is for our Fauntleroy/Vashon/Southworth and Point Defiance/Tahlequah routes. Advanced registration is required for each 6 p.m. meeting. The day after each meeting, a video recording will be available online on our community participation webpage. So far, we’ve had a total of 268 participants join our Whidbey Island, Seattle/Bainbridge and Anacortes/San Juan Islands meetings. Thanks to everyone for taking the time to listen in and provide feedback!

Several members of our executive team and I are available to answer questions and address comments as the majority of each meeting is dedicated to doing that.

Seattle/Bainbridge route Sept. 7-13 closure FAQ, survey

We provided an early heads up last month that our Seattle/Bainbridge route will be closed to vehicles, motorcycles, bicycles and electric scooters Sept. 7-13. As you can imagine, we’ve received several questions about the closure, which is needed for work on our overhead walkway replacement project at Bainbridge terminal. Answers to some of the common questions can be found in our closure FAQ.

During the six-day closure, four bridge spans will arrive by barge, be rolled off into the vehicle holding and exit lanes, then lifted by cranes and set into place.

We will use a one-boat alternate schedule for walk-on passengers during the closure. We’re evaluating vessel and crewing availability to determine if we can provide service beyond that. To help us with service planning during the closure, please complete our customer survey by 5 p.m. Friday, June 16. We’ll share more information in mid-July about service on our Seattle/Bainbridge and other routes during the closure.

New electronic signs now on at Vashon terminal

New electronic signs are up and running at the vehicle entrance to our Vashon terminal. Since they were installed last year, we’ve been testing and tweaking this traffic-control system until recently, when we turned the signs on for day-to-day operations. The signs are designed to keep the intersection of Vashon Highway Southwest and 103rd Avenue Southwest clear and maintain access to the dock for transit vehicles and those heading to Southworth. They also improve safety for pedestrians by providing improved sight distance for people using the crosswalk. Please follow the new signs and be extra careful navigating through the area as drivers adjust.

The new electronic signs were part of a larger effort to improve Vashon terminal that also included restriping the dock.

Orca Action Month

June is Orca Action Month and we’re proud of our continued partnership with the Orca Network to help protect and spread awareness of southern resident killer whales. Some of our efforts include reporting for Ocean Wise’s Whale Report Alert System, as well as participating in Quiet Sound, the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority’s Enhancing Cetacean Habitat and Observation (ECHO) Program and the state’s Southern Resident Orca Recovery website. In addition, most of our crewmembers have completed the ECHO Program’s Whales in our Waters tutorial.

Our summertime marine naturalist program returns tomorrow with Whale Museum volunteers aboard select sailings on our Anacortes/San Juan Islands route.

Memorial Day weekend ridership, disruptions

We had one of our busiest weekends in years with more than 335,000 riders on May 25-29. That’s nearly 50,000 more than the same five-day Memorial Day weekend period in 2022. Unfortunately, along with the crowds came challenges, particularly on our Anacortes/San Juan Islands and Mukilteo/Clinton routes. That’s where we had multiple cancellations due to either mechanical or crewing issues. We continue to work to address those challenges and we appreciate the patience of our customers over a difficult holiday weekend for state ferry travel.

72 years of safe and efficient service

Today we celebrate 72 years of carrying passengers safely through some of the most majestic scenery in the world. On June 1, 1951, WSF began operations after taking control from the Puget Sound Navigation Company (Black Ball Line). For more than seven decades, we’ve proudly served as an extension of our state highway system!

Environmental efforts at Eagle Harbor featured in Green Marine Magazine 

Our work to decrease the environmental footprint at our Eagle Harbor Maintenance Facility was featured recently in Green Marine Magazine. Chief Sustainability Officer Kevin Bartoy provided an overview on our sustainability efforts, particularly at our Bainbridge Island shipyard.

The article included Risk Management Safety System Program Manager Devon Cory’s project to test environmentally friendlier degreasers at the maintenance shops, Safety Officer Kelsey Cronce’s pallet recycling initiative, Senior Marine Engineer Frank Fiedler’s efforts to reduce the chances of our weld shop polluting the environment and our Office of Sustainability and Environmental Services’ continued monitoring of the site for a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency decontamination superfund.

Nighttime closures of Hood Canal Bridge return next week

The State Route 104 Hood Canal Bridge will close to vehicle traffic from 11 p.m. to 4 a.m. next Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday nights, June 6-8, for lighting improvements. Then starting Saturday night, June 10, there will be eight additional overnight closures (view dates and times) through the morning of Thursday, June 22, so crews can upgrade and replace key elements of the bridge. This weather-dependent work was originally planned to occur over four weekends this summer. Additional nighttime closures will be needed in September with dates and times being announced later this summer.

RAVE to the crew of the ferry Yakima for their immediate response when I took a bad fall on the trip from Orcas Island to Anacortes. They checked me over, comforted me and stayed with me until we docked, and escorted me to our car in a wheelchair.

-Anacortes/San Juan Islands customer in The Seattle Times