After meeting with Sen. Sharon Nelson and members of ferry advisory committees last week regarding boarding procedures at Fauntleroy, ferry officials say they are planning for community outreach this fall with the goal of implementing recommendations in the spring.

Washington State Ferries (WSF) spokesman Brian Mannion noted his colleagues heard a wide range of suggestions and concerns and want to share those with the public to gather further input before moving ahead with changes.

“Everyone has a different perspective, and there is something to learn form everyone,” he said. “We want to think through all the options and not take a stab at a quick fix,” Mannion said.

The plan for public input has not been finalized yet, but he said islanders will be hearing more about it “very soon.”

Nelson, who lives on Maury Island and frequently commutes to the mainland, said her meeting with ferry officials went well, but she cautioned that there is no quick fix while summer traffic remains high. Ideas discussed for improvement, she said, ranged from how best to use the dock exit lanes to if there is space for a third toll booth. Additionally, she noted she has asked twice for a meeting with Seattle officials regarding street parking at Lincoln Park, hoping to improve both safety and boat loading by limiting parking hours there.

She also encouraged islanders to buy tickets online before they ride the ferry whenever possible, and if they use multi-ride passes to check how many trips they have before they leave.

“If people are not pre-ticketed, they slow the whole process down,” she said.

She also encouraged those who invite others to the island, including people expecting several off-island guests for a special event, to ensure that those ferry passengers have tickets in advance.

Greg Beardsley, who heads the Vashon Ferry Advisory Committee, said the meeting he, fellow committee member Jan Stephens and representatives from both Southworth and Fauntleroy advisory committees had with ferry officials was also productive.

“My feeling is they are trying,” he said. “They have done a much better job in the last couple days.”

He noted that members of his group stressed the importance of a bypass lane.

“All four of us encouraged them to get an express lane for those that have tickets already,” he said.

He said, as he has said before, that he believes moving pre-ticketed passengers ahead of the tollbooth is critical to filling the boats in a timely way. He also noted that system wide, the triangle route has the highest percent of ferry passengers who rely on multi-ride tickets. Of the 3 million vehicles on the triangle route each year, two-thirds of them are pre-ticketed. In comparison, he said, the Mukilteo-Clinton route comes in second with 5 million users and one-fourth using multi-ride passes.

He also noted that in the meeting, ferry officials expressed some problems with loading at Fauntleroy that he had not previously considered, including increased traffic on Fauntleroy Way, which has complicated the loading process, including pulling cars out of the line to bring them forward. He added there is also increased competition for the exit lanes on the dock, including more van pools and motorcycles than there used to be all traveling down them to get to the ferry.

“It is hugely complex, and every little piece intermingles with every other little piece,” he said.

He would like to see changes in the coming weeks he said, but understands there will be a public process.

“I am more hopeful today that ferries will come up with something, but I am not certain that it is going to happen real fast.”