Quick reminder – the King County Water Taxi‘s West Seattle-to-downtown run resumes service tomorrow morning. The official celebration isn’t till next Sunday, but the service is back in business starting with the 6:50 am departure from Seacrest tomorrow, and several things are different this year. We’ve reported on them all over the past few months; you can review the WSB King County Water Taxi archive (newest to oldest) here, plus, here are direct links to info on the county’s site:
—The boat schedule
—The new boat
—The “new” docks (upgrade on West Seattle side, location change on downtown side)
—The new fares
—Added shuttle service to Morgan Junction (midday weekdays only)

We’ve been tracking work on the new King County Water Taxi dock at Seacrest – next step, the gangway. Its components arrived at the end of the week, after the concrete dock was towed in (see our previous story/photos here) and secured. And you may soon see the new vessel on the West Seattle-downtown run, the Rachel Marie, because King County Transportation Marine Division communications manager Susan Whitmore says it’s being brought into Puget Sound this week, after leaving the Ballard shipyard where it’s been getting ready for its new role (see our “sneak peek inside tour” story here). Whitmore says the crew – county employees, now that the service is no longer operated by Argosy – starts work two weeks from tomorrow and will be training until the new season begins on April 5. 6:48 PM UPDATE: Seems the Rachel Marie didn’t wait till next week – we’re told it was seen out and about today, and Zack sent this photo of the RM docked at Pier 50 this evening, now sporting the KCWT branding, next to its counterpart Melissa Ann, which makes the Vashon-downtown run:

9:31 PM UPDATE: The explanation comes in comment and on our Facebook (WS Blog) page – the Rachel Marie will fill in on the Vashon-downtown run because of mechanical trouble that took the Melissa Ann out of service.

With a little over five weeks to go till the new season starts for the King County Water Taxi‘s West Seattle-Downtown Seattle run, construction of its new dock at Seacrest has entered the second phase. After the new pilings were finished earlier this month, the site was quiet for a while, but now the concrete dock itself is going in – the photo above is from about an hour ago. The first day of the new season is scheduled for Monday, April 5th; last Friday, we brought you a close-up sneak peek on board the boat King County has leased for the run, the Rachel Marie (see our story =here). It’s currently at a Ballard shipyard getting freshened up, with the county branding outside, and new seats (among other things) inside – this shot from our Friday tour looks toward the bow on the main deck:

You’re likely to see West Seattle’s new Water Taxi out on training runs starting in a week or two. Meantime, here’s a little more background about the new dock; other changes for the new season include fares and the downtown dock location, which moves south to Pier 50 (which the other county run, Vashon-Downtown, already uses). ADDED THURSDAY NIGHT: Thanks to Brenda C for photos taken as the concrete dock floated in, earlier in the day:

When you step on board the 77-foot catamaran Rachel Marie – which will make the West Seattle-Downtown Seattle run of the King County Water Taxi when this year’s service starts April 5 (new date) – you may feel a little smarter. That’s because the boat used to carry rocket scientists. True! As explained by Robert Patronsky of Four Seasons Marine, which owns the RM and its sister ship Melissa Ann – the Water Taxi for the Vashon-Downtown Seattle run – this one made shuttle runs in the Western Pacific for many years, to a US military missile-testing site. A photo inside the vessel is testimony to this:

So are signs in English and the Marshall Islands’ language, Marshallese.

More recently, the RM was on a foot-ferry passenger project in Honolulu. But we digress. The reason we asked the King County Ferry District for a sneak peek on board the Rachel Marie, which is currently at a Ballard shipyard, is because many WSB’ers asked for more details when we first reported on the Rachel Marie (with photos) last month. Ask, and we’ll do our best to make sure you receive. “Is there an outside deck?” some asked. Here it is – room for about 40 people topside, stern – a one-minute tour of where you can sit/stand outside:

There’s an inside deck upstairs, too – keep in mind, this eventually is meant to run year-round – and then, the main deck:

While the Rachel Marie is capable of carrying more than 200, Susan Whitmore with King County says it will be certified for up to 150 – any more, and they have different crewing and security requirements. Right now, they’re finishing hiring the crew – they’ve got their captains, who will be in a wheelhouse you can watch through windows at the front of the top interior deck:

Some other notes: No concessions; the county might look at that later as a revenue measure, says Whitmore, but nothing’s planned when the season starts. You can bring your own food/drink, though, and there are some tables in the main-deck seating.

(A few power outlets, too, if you just can’t stay off your laptop during the trip across the bay.) And as you probably noticed in the video clip, interior bike racks – enough to hold 18 total, no extra charge. Though the Rachel Marie has the ability to run faster than its predecessors, they’re keeping the same schedule for now – while looking for the “sweet spot” between fuel efficiency and speed. The basic fare is higher if you’re paying cash, as reported previously; Whitmore says they’ll keep taking cash “for a while,” but the farebox will be at the dock, along with an ORCA transit-card reader, and they hope eventually to install credit-card-capable ticket machines at the docks (remember, on the downtown side, they’ll be switching to Pier 50, just south of Colman Dock). Again, the new Water Taxi season starts April 5; that’s a Monday, so Whitmore says they’re not planning the kind of festivities with which they kicked off the season in past years, but might have an open house at some point. Meantime, the new dock at Seacrest needs to be finished – and then this summer, county leaders have to figure out the funding that’s needed for the service to run year-round as hoped.

Thanks to WSB’er “kmo39” – who has shared updates before on the progress of the King County Water Taxi dock project at Seacrest – for sharing that photo taken this morning: Now that the pilings for the new dock are in, concrete pouring is under way. The Water Taxi is scheduled to start running again in April, and if funding is finalized over the summer, its year-round operations could start this fall; the dock project is a prelude to that, since the previous wooden floating dock – shaky even in summertime – didn’t suit rough-weather operations. Also a reminder – the King County Ferry District board (King County Council members) is scheduled to take up the new proposed fare structure (including a 50-cent increase if you pay cash) on Monday (1:30 pm, County Courthouse), with a public hearing – here’s our story from last week.

If the King County Ferry District Board – aka King County Council – says yes, the KC Water Taxi‘s West Seattle run will charge 50 cents more for adult passengers who pay cash, starting this spring. A new fare schedule is up for a public hearing when the board meets January 25th – including Seattle-Vashon Water Taxi fares:

Reasons cited for the rate increase – which would be the first in three-plus years – include wanting to encourage transit-pass use. The meeting on January 25 is at 1:30 pm in County Council chambers at the County Courthouse downtown; you can read related documents by following links from this page on the Ferry District website. Next Water Taxi season is scheduled to start April 4; work is under way at Seacrest right now to improve its dock in hopes of year-round operation, which will require additional funding that the county’s hoping will be worked out this summer. P.S. We just asked spokesperson Kris Faucett if there’s been a decision on which boat the county will lease for the new season (since Argosy is no longer running the service) – she says there should be news about that “soon.”

In the comment section following yesterday’s update on impending King County Water Taxi dock construction at Seacrest, there was a request for a closer look at the plan, to find out more about how divers might be affected. We asked the King County Department of Transportation for an image of the latest rendering – all we had was our photo of what was up on an easel at a meeting early last year – and what you see above is what they sent today. (Click the image, or here, for a larger view – you may have to click “zoom” if your browser allows it, once the new image comes up.) Most of the components are being built off-site to minimize the amount of time people are affected at Seacrest, but piles will be driven and so neighbors are warned of noise and other construction-related inconveniences. The first day of this year’s Water Taxi season is scheduled to be April 4, but whether it continues year-round from that point on – as the new dock is meant to facilitate – depends on the results of a search for funding, since the county budget crisis last fall led to the King County Ferry District cutting back on the taxing authority it was using.

As reported here last weekend, the construction permit’s been issued for the new King County Water Taxi dock at Seacrest, and this morning we have more information from the King County Department of Transportation on when the work starts and what effects it will have on people who use Seacrest:

The project begins the week of Jan. 4, when Manson Construction Company will move barges and containment booms into the area between the fixed fishing pier and the shoreline. In the first stage of the project, the aging gangway, floating dock and pilings will be removed.

By mid-January, installation of new pilings will begin, which requires using a large vibratory hammer to rattle the pilings into the ground. The pile installation has the potential for increased noise especially underwater. Residents around Seacrest Park may also notice increased noise levels during working hours Monday through Friday.

The fixed fishing pier is expected to remain open to the public throughout construction, but fishermen will experience increased noise and in-water disruptions. Also, recreational diving will be interrupted at and around Seacrest Dock between mid-January and mid-February of 2010.

The pile installation is scheduled to take two to three weeks. Once it’s completed, a new dock and gangway will be installed. No increase in noise levels is expected during this construction phase; however, the work could continue to be disruptive to divers in the area.

The current construction schedule shows the project being completed by late-February, 2010.

The Water Taxi’s next season between West Seattle and downtown is scheduled to start in April. Whether it continues year-round thereafter, as has been proposed, depends on funding issues. Since the service is no longer being contracted out to Argosy Cruises, next season will bring a dock change (Pier 50 downtown, where the county’s Seattle-Vashon foot ferry now lands) and vessel change (the county’s leasing one – no final decision yet on a specific vessel).

(WSB photo from June 2009)
As previously reported, the dock at Seacrest used by the West Seattle-to-downtown run of the King County Water Taxi needs major upgrade work before the service can go year-round. This week, the construction permit was granted for the dock and piling replacement project (here’s the notice on the city website), as outlined in this rendering shown at a meeting earlier this year:

While Seacrest is a city Parks Department facility, the Water Taxi service is run by the county, which is responsible for the dock-upgrade project. When government offices reopen next week, we’ll check to see when the major work is scheduled to begin. Meantime, there are still financial issues to settle before long-term year-round service is guaranteed, as the footnote on this King County Ferry District webpage underscores. The service is scheduled to restart “seasonal” operations in spring, no matter what (likely April 4, according to the “work plan” adopted with the Ferry District budget in November). As the county is now running the service instead of Argosy, the boat and dock are scheduled to change as well – with a leased vessel running between Seacrest and Pier 50, south of Washington State Ferries‘ Colman Dock.

As the King County Water Taxi‘s West Seattle run sends out the official announcement of another record-setting year (which ended on Halloween), we also have word that work has begun on the expansion of its Seacrest dock – which will enable the foot ferry to go year-round starting next spring. Word from King County Executive-elect Dow Constantine‘s office is that work on the dock components already has begun offsite, and the 12-week expansion project will start onsite within a few weeks. Now, as for that recordsetting traffic – here’s the official announcement:

The King County Water Taxi West Seattle route broke the 200,000 rider mark in 2009, as the 12-year-old passenger ferry connecting West Seattle and downtown Seattle increased its annual ridership by 21 percent over 2008.

During the 2009 summer season:

—The West Seattle route served a total of 203,229 riders;

—Set individual monthly ridership records for each full operational month: May 2009 (31,557), June 2009 (33,865), July 2009 (46,861), August 2009 (43,981), and September 2009 (26,603);

—The 46,861 riders in July set the mark as the top ridership month in the history of the King County Water Taxi West Seattle route;

—August 2009 was the second highest ridership month in West Seattle route history (43,981 riders) and just the third month ever with 43,000 or more riders (43,020 people rode in August 2007), and

—Over the past five years, ridership on the West Seattle route has increased by 90 percent (from 106,316 riders in 2005 to 203,229 riders in 2009).