West Seattle, Washington
28 Thursday
Right around lunchtime today, the King County Water Taxi “alert” list got an alarming message saying that the sidewalk by the WT’s downtown dock, Pier 50, would be closed for work starting … immediately:
Water Taxi-riding WSB’ers e-mailed us (and posted in the WSB Forum) saying essentially: “WHAT?” We checked with King County Councilmember Joe McDermott‘s office, since he also chairs the Ferry District board. It was news to them too. BOTTOM LINE: We’ve just heard from Michelle Allison on the McDermott team, and she says the work has been postponed till November – AFTER the Viaduct closure. (The “alert” list subsequently received this:)
Meantime, our daily Viaduct updates have been delayed due to breaking news this afternoon (including some in White Center), but check back here later this evening! And remember, the closure starts at **7:30 pm** tomorrow – so it will NOT affect the Friday morning/evening rush hours.
(Among those in our photo from the 6th Ave. S. bus yard: King Co. Marine Div. Dir. Scott Davis, far left; Seattle Times [WSB partner] transportation reporter Mike Lindblom, a West Seattleite, at center)
Just back from a briefing this afternoon by King County Metro and Water Taxi officials, with yet more information to share about the looming Alaskan Way Viaduct closure (7:30 pm Friday, October 21, to 5 am Monday, October 31st). Some of the newest toplines include an infoblitz headed your way:
*70,000 mailers are going out, including free bus tickets
*Posters will be going up, distributed in West Seattle and elsewhere
*Metro has a special web section at kingcounty.gov/getyouthere
*Metro runs that take the Viaduct now will take 4th or 3rd Avenue that week. Coming off the West Seattle Bridge, buses will take the 1st Avenue South exit, and will travel up eastbound lower Spokane Street to turn left onto 4th – cars will not be able to turn left there, only buses, and a uniformed officer will be there to facilitate this.
*The West Seattle Water Taxi has a brochure about the extra runs it’s adding that week (the special schedule is linked from this infopage).
*Water Taxi managers will be at the dock that first commute morning (Monday 10/24) and as many other mornings as needed to help out
A few other notes, some of which we have reported here before:
*Extra Water Taxi parking along Harbor – overnight parking will be prohibited those days, in hopes of opening more spaces for commuters – and at half of Don Armeni Boat Ramp (no special WT shuttle stop there, though), for about 200 total potential all-day spaces.
*The Water Taxi shuttles will include larger – though nonbranded – vehicles that week. Note that the larger shuttles can carry up to two bicycles each; current shuttles have no bike rack. The Water Taxi vessel has an 18-bicycle capacity.
*If you plan to try different commute methods on for size, considering entering the West Seattle Commute Choice Challenge.
ADDED 4:21 PM: The official news release related to this afternoon’s briefing is here.
As first reported here last month, the West Seattle Water Taxi will add runs, shuttle-bus capacity, and parking for the weekdays that fall during the October 21-31 Alaskan Way Viaduct closure. A news release with official final details is just in from the King County Ferry District – including the full WT schedule for the closure period – read on:Read More
During the previous two media briefings we’ve covered regarding the upcoming 9-day, 10-night Alaskan Way Viaduct closure (October 21-31), there hasn’t been much information available about how the West Seattle Water Taxi will be made more usable for the duration – though there were promises that the information was forthcoming. The first major round of updates has just been provided by County Councilmember Joe McDermott, who is also chair of the King County Ferry District Board – details ahead:Read More
(Photo courtesy Debra Herbst, taken @ Seacrest 7/20/11, when big events boosted WT ridership)
After last Monday’s announcement of the official dates for October’s 9-day/10-night Alaskan Way Viaduct construction/demolition closure, some asked about the West Seattle Water Taxi – would it add more runs during the shutdown? The short answer from King County was, no – runs were already added earlier this year, and the service was finally extended to be year-round. However, Michelle Allison from the office of King County Councilmember Joe McDermott (who chairs the King County Ferry District Board, an alter-ego of the KC Council) says they are working on ideas for making it more “accessible” during that time. In particular, she told WSB, they’re trying to figure out if they can ease the parking crunch for people trying to get to Seacrest to catch the WT, since the shuttle/bus routes don’t work for everyone. Any specific ideas – that would be easily implementable, temporarily and quickly – that YOU think would make the WT easier to use?
P.S. Yet another reminder – the West Seattle Water Taxi is on a Sunday schedule tomorrow (Labor Day), as are its shuttle buses, while the Vashon Water Taxi won’t run at all.
If you’re taking the West Seattle Water Taxi to tonight’s football game, King County wants to be sure you know they’ve added an extra run back to West Seattle at 11 pm – the 10:30 pm run from Pier 50 is usually the last one from downtown to WS. (This also gives us one more excuse to remind you that the WS Water Taxi and its shuttles are on a Sunday schedule on Labor Day.)
(Photo courtesy Debra Herbst, taken @ Seacrest this evening)
We hear the West Seattle Water Taxi is getting a sizable turnout for its extended service tonight with two big events downtown. Checking its website, we noticed ridership stats are published for the first half of this year – here’s the screengrab of the table:
It should be noted that the first two months of 2010 (April and May – year-round service didn’t start till 2011) were reported as significantly down from the year before; we are still checking the archives for other longer-term comparisons.
Heads up for Wednesday night: The Seattle Sounders-Manchester United soccer game at 7 pm Wednesday will bring an estimated 66,000 people to the stadium zone. But the good news is that you can take the West Seattle Water Taxi – it’s running Wednesday night between Pier 50 and Seacrest every half hour from 7:30 to 10:30 pm, the county says. (Thanks to Jissy for the tip!) There’s also a series of bus reroutes – read on:Read More
After a “mechanical failure” that made Rachel Marie unavailable for this morning’s runs, the county says it’s repaired and will resume its normal West Seattle Water Taxi schedule for this afternoon.
The West Seattle Water Taxi vessel Rachel Marie has had a “mechanical failure” and there’ll be no service on the run till 9 am, leaving downtown, according to an alert from King County Department of Transportation. They’ll be using the Melissa Ann, which is the Vashon-to-downtown boat.
The West Seattle Water Taxi‘s regular vessel Rachel Marie is back in service after almost a week of repair work. It was returned to the run without fanfare yesterday afternoon, according to this update on the county website, which means the Melissa Ann is back on the Vashon route.
Just in case you were wondering … After three days of the Melissa Ann filling in for the undergoing-repairs Rachel Marie on the West Seattle-Downtown Seattle run of the King County Water Taxi, we checked with the county Transportation Department to see how repairs are going. Spokesperson Rochelle Ogershok says the work is still under way but: “We’re estimating the Rachel Marie will be back in service this weekend or early next week.” The Melissa Ann is usually on the Vashon-to-downtown Water Taxi run, which is currently being handled by the Victoria Express (details here).
(WSB photo of Rachel Marie, from last month)>
7:53 PM: Just in from King County:
Over the weekend, the Water Taxi crew discovered a small crack in the hull plating of the Rachel Marie. The King County Marine Division has made arrangements to use another vessel, the Victoria Express, while the Rachel Marie is being repaired. The Victoria Express is a mono-hulled vessel of similar passenger capacity to the Rachel Marie and Melissa Ann, but it travels at slightly slower speeds and its length is better suited for the Vashon dock than the Seacrest dock in West Seattle. So beginning on Monday, June 6, the Victoria Express will be put into service on the Vashon Island/Downtown Seattle route, and the Melissa Ann will provide service on the West Seattle/Downtown Seattle route.
ADDED 8:09 PM: The issue of a backup vessel is one the county had been working on since other recent problems that pulled the Rachel Marie out of service, according to Michelle Allison from the office of King County Councilmember Joe McDermott (who is King County Ferry District board chair). We had also asked her recently about the status of the plan for the county eventually to have new boats built for the West Seattle and Vashon runs:
We recently wrapped up an expert review panel and expect the final report soon. This was an important step for us in discussing what elements our new boats should include – the number of passengers, technical specifications, etc. Once the Board receives the final report, they will spend some time reviewing and then they will develop the detailed procurement documents needed to secure a builder.
Background on the RM and its recent history of trouble, ahead:Read More
On the West Seattle Water Taxi‘s downtown pier about an hour ago, King County Ferry District board chair Joe McDermott and member Larry Phillips honored the crew who rescued a diver. Here’s our coverage from May 10th, including a photo of the Rachel Marie just off Seacrest during the rescue. As was recounted in coverage that day, Captain Neal Amaral maneuvered the passenger ferry into place, and crewmember Aaron Barnett jumped into the water till the diver was safely secured into a sling.
Also honored (our video shows the short ceremony in its entirety), their fellow crewmembers Frank Massaro – who received a citation last year from the U.S. Coast Guard for rescuing a man in the water near Pier 50 – and engineer Vik Misic. All of their roles in the rescue are recapped in today’s county news release – click ahead to read it in its entirety:Read More
As promised, we have before/after numbers on the West Seattle Water Taxi, through the prism of the Highway 99/Alaskan Way Viaduct lane-reduction “squeeze” that began one week ago today.
For the week BEFORE the Squeeze, morning-commute ridership averaged 90 passengers daily, afternoon-commute ridership averaged 150 passengers daily.
For last week, the numbers jumped 50+ percent in the morning – averaging 140 passengers – and doubled in the pm, to 300.
From the office of King County Councilmember Joe McDermott (who also chairs the King County Ferry District Board), Michelle Allison says, “We look forward to this trend continuing. There is still plenty of room on the boat and the free shuttle that meets the taxi at Seacrest dock, bringing riders to several important transfer points, including 35th and Avalon. From here riders can catch the 54, 55, 21 and 22 buses.” (The schedule for the 775 to Admiral/Alki is here; the schedule for the 773 to The Junction, and part-time to Morgan Junction, is here.)
Thinking of taking the Water Taxi today, after what commenters say has been a steadily worsening Highway 99 commute post-lane reductions? Here’s the schedule. The county tells us that through the first three days of the week, ridership has been consistently higher than the previous week, particularly on the afternoon runs. We stopped by Seacrest for photos on Wednesday and counted 31 people disembarking around 4:30 pm. We’re expecting official numbers in a week-one wrapup on Monday.
The county says the Rachel Marie has been repaired and will be back on its regular West Seattle-Downtown Seattle Water Taxi schedule tomorrow. They also say the delay in getting an alert out about this morning’s sudden problem was because it took a while for the crew to figure out what was wrong and how serious it was, and they’ll try to be faster in the future.
Just in from King County Department of Transportation:
West Seattle-Downtown Seattle Water Taxi service has been canceled for the remainder of the day due to a mechanical problem. Metro DART shuttles 773 and 775 are operating on their regular schedules.
An update about tomorrow’s Water Taxi service will be provided this evening. Please monitor service alerts, check the Water Taxi web site, kingcounty.gov/watertaxi, or call the Water Taxi information line at 206-684-1551.
Metro Route 37 provides service between downtown Seattle and Alki during commute hours. Visit www.kingcounty.gov/metro or call the Metro Customer Information Office at 206-553-3000 for trip planning information.
And of course we’ll have an update here once the outlook for tomorrow is made public. We first reported the problems with the Water Taxi shortly after 8 this morning, thanks to WSB’ers who called/texted/e-mailed, and that was more than an hour before official alerts were issued. If you have news to share, 206-293-6302 any time (other ways to contact us are listed here).
(EDITOR’S NOTE: We’ll add updates to this story as the morning goes on when new info is available)
8:18 AM: We haven’t officially confirmed it, and no alert has come from the county, but we’ve received two reports now that something is going on with the West Seattle Water Taxi. More to come as soon as we get something confirmed.
8:34 AM UPDATE: Tracy sent a note saying she’s been told it’s out of service for at least two hours. Jim sent the photo we’ve added above, saying it’s in the water south of Seacrest with what he believes is a police boat, lights on, nearby.
9 AM UPDATE: Another photo, from Al, which clearly shows a boat labeled police; SPD isn’t showing anything in the area. A county spokesperson is handling our inquiry but still no official info on what’s going on.
9:07 AM UPDATE: Mechanical problem, Rochelle Ogershok with King County Department of Transportation now confirms. She says they haven’t figured out yet how the schedule will be affected. We’re also asking why the alert system didn’t kick in, since this has been going on for at least an hour and there’s been no text alert for riders to warn them of a problem.
9:42 AM UPDATE: The official text alert has now arrived, saying the boat will be out of service TFN.
Going to the Sounders game on Saturday night (after West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day)? Just got word that the West Seattle Water Taxi is adding a late run to accommodate fans afterward – an 11 pm departure from Pier 50 to Seacrest.
Thanks to everyone who’s asked about the fire/police response to Seacrest late this morning. A diver got into trouble – but there’s more to the story, as you can see in the photo above, shared by Roger. King County Department of Transportation spokesperson Rochelle Ogershok confirms that as the Rachel Marie was pulling into Seacrest, one of their crew members spotted “someone waving in the water, as though they were in trouble. When they got closer, they could see something was wrong. So the deckhand jumped into the water,” and managed to get the diver out of the water. The Coast Guard was called, and they along with other authorities took over. We know Seattle Fire units responded and are waiting for official word from them; WSB contributor Katie Meyer says scanner traffic at the time indicated the diver was described as a man around 50, believed to have been in distress after a rapid ascent. We’ll add any more information we get about his status.
ADDED 5:31 PM: SFD didn’t have additional information about the diver, aside from the same info we reported above. However, there’s a bit more about the heroism. KCDOT hadn’t heard about this just yet when we called – but now they’ve put together an entire news release:
King County employees participated in the rescue of a distressed scuba diver Tuesday morning as the Rachel Marie water taxi pulled away from the Seacrest Dock for their regularly scheduled 11 a.m. sailing. Several passengers witnessed the rescue operation.
“This rescue is yet another example of our county employees’ deep commitment to public service and their instinct to go beyond the call of duty,” said King County Executive Dow Constantine. “I thank the crew of the Rachel Marie for their good work, and I wish the diver a speedy recovery.”
Shortly into the trip across Elliott Bay, the ship’s crew noticed a diver who appeared to be in distress. The boat captain, Neal Amaral, maneuvered the vessel close to the diver as he called for assistance over the radio. Crew member Aaron Barnett [county photo at right], quickly dressed in an onboard rescue suit, jumped into the water, and assisted the diver. Barnett was in the water for about 10 minutes while the diver was maneuvered into a sling.
“We knew what we had to do when we saw him. There was no other option,” said Barnett, the deckhand who dove into the water to assist the diver. “We all worked together as a team. I just happened to be the one who went in the water, but the whole crew pulled together to help him. I’m just glad we saw him, and we hope he’s okay.”
The Seattle Port Police responded to the radio call in their vessel, and they, along with the Coast Guard, were able to get the diver to land and to the hospital for medical care. His condition is unknown at this time.
“I commend the entire crew of the Rachel Marie for their quick-thinking and heroic actions this morning,” Ferry District Chair Joe McDermott said. “Their actions and those of the Coast Guard and Port Police helped to secure a successful rescue.”
Barnett and Captain Amaral are both former U.S. Coast Guard members. Barnett plans to graduate from the University of Washington this spring with a graduate degree in Marine Affairs.
3:24 PM: Just in from the King County Department of Transportation’s Marine Division: The West Seattle Water Taxi‘s runs are now canceled for the rest of today, because repair of what was described as a “defective weld” in the hull of the Rachel Marie is taking longer. The county is expecting to resume West Seattle Water Taxi service tomorrow morning.
5 PM UPDATE: The county confirms service will resume tomorrow.
Just in from King County’s Marine Division:
All West Seattle Water Taxi trips for Wednesday, April 27 are cancelled through at least the morning so that warranty repairs can be made to a small defective weld in the vessel hull. Tomorrow’s cancellation will allow the King County Marine Division to take advantage of available dry dock space.
While the Marine Division hopes repairs can be made in time to resume service for the Wednesday afternoon commute, passengers are advised to monitor e-mail/text service alerts, visit the Water Taxi website at www.kingcounty.gov/watertaxi, or call 206-684-1551.
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