WSF Weekly Report | Dedications, salmon drumming, meetings

||| FROM WASHINGTON STATE FERRIES |||

On Monday, WSDOT Secretary Roger Millar and I had the honor of joining Gov. Jay Inslee, tribal, county and city leaders, as well as project staff and contractors at a dedication ceremony for our new Seattle Multimodal Ferry Terminal at Colman Dock. The facility opened in stages, with the entry building and elevated pedestrian walkway debuting just two months ago. They serve as a connection between Alaskan Way and the passenger building that fully opened in November 2022. The terminal is built to current seismic standards and includes environmental features such as passive heating and cooling. Monday’s event capped a seven-year, $489 million construction project.

With event speakers Gov. Jay Inslee, Muckleshoot Tribal Vice Chair Donny Stevenson, King County Executive Dow Constantine, Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell and WSDOT Secretary Roger Millar following the unveiling of a project plaque. Suquamish Tribal Council Vice Chair Josh Bagley also spoke.

The city is leading construction on several other elements near our Seattle terminal, including a new Marion Street pedestrian bridge that will link Colman Dock to city streets that’s scheduled to open later this fall. In 2024, we plan to open two new tribal-named plazas, a new passenger pickup/drop-off area along Alaskan Way, a bike corral, up to 10 food and retail businesses and a refurbished Colman Clock.

During the Monday’s event, Gov. Jay Inslee named Terminal Attendant Carol Stearns, a 48-year WSF employee, as “Washingtonian of the Day.”

Salmon recently seen at the new Habitat Beach just south of the terminal. The project has helped to restore salmon habitat around Colman Dock, particularly north of the facility, where we opened 180 feet of shoreline where a bulkhead once sat.

Recent meetings of Fauntleroy terminal project advisory groups

This month, our Fauntleroy terminal replacement project team brought together its three advisory groups – community, executive and technical. The existing dock is aging, seismically vulnerable and needs to be replaced. At the meetings, each group reviewed the draft alternatives – or options to replace the dock – and the draft screening criteria we’ll use to select an alternative. We are planning broader community engagement opportunities in spring 2024 to gather more input from our customers and all three communities on our “Triangle” route. Recordings of these recent meetings will be available tomorrow on the community engagement section of the project website.

After the Executive Advisory Group meeting last week, members went on a tour of the terminal to hear from operations staff, experience operational challenges during a busy afternoon commute and check out Fauntleroy Creek and other environmental features near the facility.

Fauntleroy terminal employees participate in salmon drumming event

Over 80 people gathered Sunday to call salmon to Fauntleroy Creek, which passes right by our Fauntleroy terminal. Fauntleroy Terminal Supervisor Anthony Goch and other staff members joined residents at the event to sing and drum as part of a 29-year-old tradition to call salmon “home” to the creek.

Fauntleroy terminal employees Jarrod Barreto and Michelle White use a blue sheet of fabric to create waves in the air for event participants to pass under.

Vehicle reservations for winter season available 10 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 7

Vehicle reservations for winter (Dec. 31 to March 23, 2024) on our Anacortes/San Juan Islands and Port Townsend/Coupeville routes will be available at 10 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 7. This is one week later than normal to adjust for this new release time for our two-month season release which is three hours later than previous releases. This came as a recommendation from our San Juan Islands Ferry Advisory Committee to separate the high traffic demand (online and in our call center) of the two-month release from those looking to make a reservation during the two-week and two-day release, which will remain at 7 a.m. daily.

Due to crewing and vessel availability constraints, we have also lowered the amount of vehicle reservations space on our Anacortes/San Juan Islands run from 90% to 75%, leaving 25% for standby. This added standby space will help ensure reservation holders make sailings during service disruptions. Of that 75%, 25% will be released on Nov. 7, another 25% two weeks before each specific sailing and the final 25% two days before. Because of the reduced reservation space, standby space is available on many sailings and customers can often travel without a reservation. Everyone is encouraged to check terminal conditions and cameras before heading to the terminal.

For our Port Townsend/Coupeville route, all reservations (80% of available space) will be released at 10 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 7.

Maritime Washington video featuring Capt. Genevieve Fritschen

Relief Captain Genevieve Fritschen is featured in a video series highlighting Washington state mariners. Behind this campaign is the Maritime Washington National Heritage Area, which supports a network that strengthens the maritime community and connects people with the stories, experiences, resources and cultures of our state’s saltwater shores and waterways.

SR 525 roadwork just outside Mukilteo terminal begins Sunday, Oct. 29

A multi-week project to widen the sidewalk along the northbound lanes of State Route 525/Mukilteo Speedway on the bridge over the railroad tracks near our Mukilteo terminal begins Sunday, Oct. 29. The work will require nighttime closures of the ferry holding lane on SR 525 from 10 p.m. to 8 a.m. Sunday through Tuesday nights and from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. on Wednesday and Thursday nights. We’ll keep you posted on a week-long continuous closure of the holding lane planned for November when law enforcement will direct traffic during peak ferry times. Work is scheduled to finish in December.

“RAVE to the Washington State Ferries employee [Dana Billington] at the Fauntleroy ferry terminal who came to find my friend during our catch-up dinner at a restaurant near the ferry dock to tell her that the ferry was now running on time, after previously telling her how late it was. I hadn’t seen my lifelong friend from Colorado since her husband’s funeral six years before, and we had much to catch up on. Thanks for allowing us to seek out as many minutes as possible without her missing the ferry and having to wait for the next one, which was hours later.”

-Submitted to The Seattle Times by a reader