Recent Study Conducted On Expanding Passenger-Only Ferry Service On Lake Washington and Union Bay

 

The Puget Sound Regional Council (PSRC) has finalized its feasibility study of passenger-only ferry service to expand service on Puget Sound, Lake Union and Lake Washington.

The study looked at 45 potential routes and then identified seven routes for more detailed evaluation.

The proposed stops on Lake Washington under consideration are:

• Kenmore – University of Washington
• Lake Washington & Lake Union
• Kirkland – University of Washington
• Renton – University of Washington
• Renton – South Lake Union

PSRC's year-long study looked at potential routes and terminals, ridership demand, operational costs and possible electric fleet of ferries.  

Here is some information from the study:

Findings:

• On some routes, passenger-only ferry service would offer advantages over land-based transportation, including more direct connections and potentially faster service than comparable modes.
• Ferry service would strengthen the transportation resiliency of the region for both scheduled travel and response/recovery in an emergency event such as an earthquake.
• The marine operating environment presents unique planning considerations, including tribal treaty rights, confined waterways, sensitive habitat and marine mammal protection.
• There is a potentially large number of routes with a destination in Seattle. Work will need to be done to plan for Seattle terminal(s) with capacity to meet demand, whether on Puget Sound or any of the lake routes.
• Electrification potential of passenger ferries will continue to improve over time, with leaps being made in low and zero emissions technologies every year.. 

Here is a recent article from the Puget Sound Business Journal:  

Study identifies 7 potential foot-ferry routes for Puget Sound area

The Puget Sound Regional Council (PSRC) last month released the results of its yearlong study examining potential passenger-only ferry routes in the area. The feasibility study narrowed the list of potential routes from 45 to seven: Tacoma-Seattle, Bellingham-Friday Harbor, Whidbey Island-Everett, Kenmore-University of Washington, Kirkland-UW, Renton-UW, and Renton-South Lake Union.

"This study was conducted at a conceptual planning level across a wide geographic area, limited to travel between the 12 counties that border Puget Sound," the report read. "Community engagement was a priority of this study, with engagement activities beginning early and continuing throughout the entire study process."

The study looked at a variety of criteria when evaluating the routes, including travel time savings, ridership potential, community interest and operational considerations. Although PSRC identified potential routes, the study is merely a starting point according to the agency. PSRC noted actual implementation would require service providers like transit agencies, local governments and private companies to develop the routes.

According to the report, Kirkland-UW would be the most-used route, with almost 148,000 riders per year. The route would cost a little more than $1.8 million to operate annually. The Kenmore-UW route, meanwhile, would host almost 130,000 riders and cost over $2 million to operate annually. Both routes would save riders about 15 minutes compared with a bus, according to PSRC.

The study noted that the potential Tacoma-Seattle route would take about 55 minutes and would need frequent service to meet demand. PSRC said the fleet would need two boats and a spare, creating an expensive upfront investment hurdle. Total annual operating costs would be close to $4.3 million annually and service over 73,000 riders per year.

For more information go here.  

Summer Lake Washington Nutria Report

A reader sent us the below nutria report for the last 3 months.  The report indicates that some calls for nutria trapping have come  from Laurelhurst.

The nutria, Myocastor coypus, is a large semi-aquatic rodent. Nutria are smaller than a beaver but larger than a muskrat, however it has a round, slightly haired tail. They live primarily in wetlands, and do significant vegatative damage to marshes, damaging a plant's root system, making recovery through vegetative regeneration very slow.

Nutria can "cause extensive damage to wetlands, agricultural crops, and structural foundations such as dikes and roads.  They may also threaten human health and safety and serve as a reservoir for tularemia and other diseases.  Integrated management solutions to nutria problems may include habitat manipulation, population management, and innovative approaches and tools generated by research."

The damage is "related to burrowing and feeding. Nutria construct burrows in the banks of rivers, sloughs, and ponds, sometimes causing considerable erosion. Burrows can weaken roadbeds, stream banks, dams, and dikes, which may collapse when the soil is saturated by rain or high water. Rain action can wash out and enlarge collapsed burrows and compounds the damage."



Dear Lake Washington Nutria Group,

The following is a summary of Wildlife Services (WS) activity on the Portage Bay and Union Bay Nutria Projects on Lake Washington for the months of  May, June, and July 2011. 

WS spent 30 hours surveying and trapping Nutria, concentrating its trapping efforts on University of Washington property as well as Portage Bay shoreline and Union Bay Marsh.  WS spent a total of 8 hours surveying the Laurelhurst areas, 6 hours surveying Seattle Parks Property, 2 hours surveying Portage Bay, and 14 hours operating 8 live traps throughout the properties. 

This month WS decided to start trapping because of several sightings of nutria in the areas.  During these months we have trapped a total of 4 nutria, 2 of which have been juveniles.  We have responded to 5 calls and reports of nutria sightings this month.

The calls have been from Kirkland, Laurelhurst to the Portage Bay houseboats.

We are very anxious to find any new nutria presents or an indication of damage nutria anywhere within Lake Washington.  Nutria reporting have been decreasing in the past few months, this may be due to nutria movements to new areas that have not been previously trapped.

This month we are going to focus on building new traps that have not been tested out in these areas before. These traps are going to be floating traps that are in water 100 meters from the shore. We anticipate great success with this new trapping method because we can place these traps in these new areas. We are very thankful for all of the people that have helped us with this project.  The project total is 309 Nutria. 

WS will continue to monitor/survey all previously trapped locations and respond to calls of Nutria in the project areas.