Ferries’ future: ‘Citizen team’ organizing as Triangle Route schedule change nears

| Fauntleroy | Transportation | West Seattle news

(WSB photo, Fauntleroy ferry dock, this morning)

As we’ve been reporting in coverage of the Triangle Route Task Force advisory group, Washington State Ferries is preparing for the first major change in years to the Fauntleroy-Vashon-Southworth schedule. The new schedule hasn’t yet been finalized; the task force got a look in August at two possible options, and a proposal will be out soon for public comment. With that as a backdrop, a new community group is organizing, and sent us this announcement:

Everybody has an opinion on how to fix the triangle route ferry schedule — lots of discussion and controversy. It’s not just about the time the boat is moving. It’s total time including the annoying wait in a ferry line while congesting and polluting the dock neighborhoods.

So, how would life be different if you knew a boat would leave at least every 30 minutes from the Fauntleroy dock throughout the day? Ferry waits would be dramatically reduced. On average, ferry users save an hour a day — an hour now mostly spent congesting and polluting the Fauntleroy dock neighborhood.

How could it be possible? The answer is so counter intuitive that you will laugh. Every boat should stop at every dock on every triangle route run, from early morning to evening. A group of Vashon commuters has completed over the last 18 months a professional, thorough process engineering ferry efficiency study. It shows that clearing the Fauntleroy dock of both Vashon and Southworth cars every 30 minutes is feasible and would reduce dock area waiting cars by 50% while creating 20% more departures. That’s a fact-based prediction based on detailed ferry observation, data collection and analysis.

You would be right to say “prove it.” We couldn’t agree more. We need the legislature to approve funds and direct WSF to test the concept with a pilot project. We need to be positive and professional with WSF and Olympia or nothing will happen.

We have put together a citizen team to make this happen. Want to help too? Email us at
ferrycommunities@gmail.com and we can work together for positive change.

WSF is planning public meetings for schedule comment starting later this month, including a 5-7 pm meeting October 23rd at Fauntleroy Church (9140 California SW).

John October 2, 2018 (11:27 am)

I would love if anyone more familiar with the process could chime in and explain the proposed solution. The description here is very unclear.

WSB October 2, 2018 (11:37 am)

The official WSF process has involved the Triangle Task Force reviewing options proposed by WSF staff. At some point before the October 23rd meeting I mention, a proposal will be released for public comment. The task force meets again in November. Meantime, the announcement featured above is from a new unofficial community group that apparently is pursuing something separate.
Steve October 4, 2018 (3:48 pm)

There will be a public outreach and education program launched by ferrycommunities@gmail.com in the next few weeks in print, electronic form and in person. Hopefully, this grassroots education and advocacy effort will answer your questions. In the meantime this article is intended to recruit participants to the group, especially from Fauntleroy and Southworth. We want the best thinking of the people who feel they can do some work in a positive vain to help the WSF with all of their of problems at Fauntleroy and on the route. WSF current public input and outreach is not at all set up to discuss and evaluate innovative change. The public is going to have to encourage Olympia of the potential benefits of some serious evaluation of options. Once we get a quorum of new folks to respond that they are interested we will hold a meeting to explain plans in detail and seek feedback and input before rolling out any detailed outreach.

Hcm October 2, 2018 (12:09 pm)

As a retired industrial engineer, it seems to me that this scheduling plan should be relatively easy to test via a computer simulation. There should already be plenty of data regarding queuing times, destination mix, traversing times, etc. The results of a simulation could form a basis for a solution, and save citizen and mgmt $$. For instance, what would be the impact of departures every 40 minutes vs 30 minutes?

Alex October 3, 2018 (10:48 am)

Great comment. Maybe UW could help with this. There are large parts of the day and late evening where there is no queue up Fauntleroy so having sailings every 30 minutes with a stop at Vashon doesn’t on its face seem to solve the queue problem which is rush hour and holidays. Vashon is in a pickle because Southworth ridership is now eclipsing Vashon and will continue to do so with population forecasted to increase on the Kitsap side. The demand will be more Southworth only sailings not 1/2 hour stops at Vashon.
steve October 4, 2018 (4:03 pm)

Good questions. The math analysis has been done and submitted both publicly and to WSF months ago to support the pendulum schedule based on almost a year of detail data provided by WSF under a Freedom of Imformation Request by Dr. Theo Eicher of the UW. As to the 40 minute separation, the math is in on that as well. It make the cycle with 3 boats 120 minutes instead of 90 minute cycle means losing 25% of the sailings (9 Fauntleroy sailings a day) and producing congestion like you have never seen at Fauntleroy. We would love to have another engineer look at the preliminary detail of ferrycommunities@gmail.com. Shoot us an email and we will include you in our inperson review meeting before general public. If you are willing to do some positive, hard work we would love it.

Mary October 2, 2018 (12:37 pm)

Smaller more frequent boats :)

s October 2, 2018 (1:43 pm)

I doubt there’s money to build three new boats.
- WSB October 2, 2018 (2:39 pm)
  
  The Long-Range Plan – while also noting that half of what it calls for would have to be covered by new funding – did suggest that F/V/S would have three new “hybrid” vessels by 2029, as noted in our coverage of the plan “open house” in Fauntleroy two weeks ago:
  https://westseattleblog.com/2018/09/happening-now-find-out-about-washington-state-ferries-future/
  - s October 2, 2018 (7:20 pm)
    
    I thought this story was about a schedule change in the nearer term…like year or two. But yes smaller boats long term makes sense

s October 2, 2018 (1:42 pm)

So the ferries would run more frequently…what would be the increase in fuel costs and pollution from ferry motors? And how would travel time change since there would be fewer direct boats?

Steve October 4, 2018 (4:08 pm)

The ferries are at idle or at the dock idling almost 60 of their day. In a diesil engine this is a 100% waste of fuel and is the most pollutive and hard on engines because of incomplete fuel burning. When you add the 1 million hours per year cars idling waiting at Fauntleroy, Vashon and Southworth to it is gets a little scary. Yes more runs use more fuel but it is fl moving the boats – there is not one extra second of engines on ferries running. Move more – idle and wait less

Ivan Weiss October 2, 2018 (1:56 pm)

The dock needs to be doubled in width, with at least four lanes added, to get the lines of cars off of Fauntleroy Way SW. This would solve a lot of the loading/unloading issues, but more important than that, it is first and foremost a matter of safety, for everyone concerned. I have been riding these ferries for more than 40 years, and I have never understood the objections to expanding the dock, or why those objections appear to be based on anything BUT concern for safety.

junctioneer October 2, 2018 (5:03 pm)

A far cheaper option than what you’ve described, to my naive thoughts, is that you wouldn’t even have to expand the dock if you put the pay booth on the ferry lane on Fauntleroy itself, essentially turning part of Fauntleroy into the waiting area. Why build a dock when you have a dedicated lane already that could perform the exact same function?

But I assume they’ve had this and a billion other suggestions already.
- Ivan Weiss October 2, 2018 (6:30 pm)
  
  @ Junctioneer: What you describe is a safety disaster in the making. Over the years, I have heard complaint after complaint from Fauntleroy neighborhood residents about the traffic problems caused by those lines. And they are right to raise that issue. But then at the same time — I don’t know if it’s the same people — many of them appear to be dead set against expanding the dock. It’s my firm belief, based on decades of ferry commuting, that the safety benefits of having more cars waiting on an expanded dock, as opposed to lining up along Fauntleroy, far outweigh any objections to dock enlargement. I don’t claim to speak for anyone but myself.
- s October 2, 2018 (7:50 pm)
  
  Junctioneer: Because some cars go to Vashon and some go to Southworth. Your idea would work if there were two lines, but not with one.
  - junctioneer October 16, 2018 (8:56 am)
    
    @Ivan: Thanks for responding. That would necessitate the addition of a median. Not sure what the safety disaster would be?
    
    @S: I was thinking perhaps the doc is at least enough to stage the remaining cars that are not going on whatever boat is currently loading. The situation would at least be better. But, maybe it wouldn’t be enough to make much difference.

William F Ringler October 2, 2018 (2:51 pm)

Build a bridge from the Kitsap Peninsula or raise the the price during peak hours .

HS October 2, 2018 (5:31 pm)

I’m still a proponent of the completely unrealistic zip line travel. But aside from that, I second the wear and tear and fuel expenses but otherwise definitely think it’s worthy of testing.

Alex October 3, 2018 (10:29 am)

I’d like to see two dedicated queues carved out of the east side of Lincoln Park right along the edge of Fauntleroy with a stoplight system. One for Vashon and one for Southworth. The parking lane north of the Park needs signage banning parking Fridays 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. to avoid the queue taking over the thru lane.

If the Triangle ridership is truly supposed to increase by 40% by 2040, where will these cars queue?

Alkipug October 3, 2018 (9:16 pm)

Rossellini proposed a bridge lets revisit that.

rob October 3, 2018 (9:57 pm)

just get rid of the ferry dock and move it to downtown. This would help morning traffic. Every time they close the dock for repairs traffic is a breeze in the morning

Sorry, comment time is over.