Elected officials at the state level and a Washington State Ferries spokeswoman all said they will take the comments islanders made at a meeting two weeks ago into consideration and continue to work to improve the issues at the Fauntleroy dock.
Sen. Sharon Nelson (D-Maury Island), Rep. Joe Fitzgibbon (D-Burien) and Rep. Eileen Cody (D-West Seattle) were in attendance at the Sept. 20 meeting, where more than 200 islanders packed Vashon Island High School and two dozen made comments railing against Washington State Ferries (WSF) for what they called poor service on the triangle route. All summer, lines stretched up Fauntleroy Way in West Seattle while ferries left partially full. A change in loading procedures, implemented in June and billed as a “quick win” by WSF and the newly formed Triangle Route Improvement Task Force, managed to move three more cars through the tollbooths between 3 and 6 p.m. Monday through Friday as compared to numbers from last summer. The lines and partially filled boats continued, stoking the flames of islanders’ frustrations.
WSF Operations Director Greg Faust has since said that the new procedures, which require all riders to have their tickets scanned at the tollbooths, will remain in effect and they are ensuring WSF is collecting all vehicle fares. The system’s handheld ticket scanners have proven troublesome with both WSF officials and islanders indicating sometimes multi-ride cards were being used beyond their 10-ride limits.
On Monday, WSF spokeswoman Hadley Rodero said she could not say what the current situation is with the scanners and whether the system will continue to contract with the company that makes them, but she would check with WSF’s technology department. An answer could not be provided before press time. She did say the loading procedures implemented this summer would continue in order to avoid using the scanners.
Regarding the comments made at the September meeting — which ranged from complaints to suggestions about implementing the Good To Go tolling system and enlarging the Fauntleroy dock — she said they have been compiled and would be handed over to the task force at their meeting after press time Tuesday.
“I think they’ve got some ideas of what they want to focus on next,” Rodero said of the task force that includes members from all three destinations served by the triangle route. “We’ll take the direction from them on where our priorities should be.”
She said that Amy Scarton, head of WSF, also reviewed the comments and is deciding what Ferries will do with existing resources, as well as potential short and long-term fixes.
“That’s our plan is to prioritize, sort and decide what to implement,” Rodero said.
WSF is planning a Fauntleroy dock construction project in 2025, and Rodero said expanding the Fauntleroy dock will be an option the system will look at.
At the state government level, Sen. Nelson acknowledged the situation on the triangle route is “difficult” and said “we’ve got to keep looking for solutions.”
She echoed Rodero in saying that the Fauntleroy dock project to replace pilings in 2025 can serve as a time to have “the layout work better.” She said she had a meeting with Ferries scheduled to discuss the project.
She also said that she will work to allow the ferry system to keep more backup boats — there is one currently — so two-boat schedules don’t happen as often, and she will try to secure funding to keep a police officer at the Fauntleroy dock directing traffic.
“Those are two things we can look at to try to get done,” she said, explaining that there is a noticible difference in offloading when an officer is at the dock.
The point she stressed most was the importance of cooperation among communities, especially with Fauntleroy.
“That community is affected by ferry traffic and has been for years,” she said. “It affects them too, and it’s important that we remember that. The more we work with them, the easier it is.”
Lastly, she said the idea brought up by islander Scott Harvey at the Sept. 20 meeting to implement the Good To Go tolling system used on some nearby highways and bridges is one of the “good ideas” that came from the meeting, but it has to be reviewed.
On the same note, Rep. Fitzgibbon also addressed the Good To Go system and said implementing the system at Fauntleroy is achievable and “worth making part of the solution.” He said WSF has already been having conversations about implementing the technology, and a February 2017 Proviso Report from the Washington State Department of Transportation Toll Division indicates the conversations are indeed happening. The report indicates the division is planning to continue “requirement build-out for WSF utilizing Good To Go! as a payment method for Ferries transactions.”
“I know they’re working, and we’re open-minded,” Fitzgibbon said Monday.
He said that while he has been “very aware” of the problems with loading the boats at Fauntleroy, the September meeting gave him a “sense of the frustration about the situation.”
“We knew there were intense feelings even before the meeting. I think there were some ideas brought forward that were good ideas and the ferry system could implement,” he said.
Like Neslon, he talked about the importance of a police officer at the dock and said he wants to keep the funding for that officer in the budget.
Rep. Cody was out of the country and could not be reached for comment.
The next meeting of the Triangle Route Improvement Task Force is from 4:30 to 7 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 9, at Fauntleroy Church, 9140 California Ave SW.
