Regional study drops Gig Harbor as potential foot ferry stop; Mayor is OK with that
A passenger-only ferry route from Gig Harbor to Seattle is no longer among those being considered by the Puget Sound Regional Council, according to a study released this week.
That’s just fine with Mayor Kit Kuhn, who has opposed the idea all along.
“Going into our harbor, which was a consideration by ferry, doesn’t really work,” he said Thursday. The harbor is too crowded, the former ferry landing is too low, and tides would make navigation difficult, he said.
The study, released on Tuesday, followed prolonged local opposition from city leadership to any Gig Harbor expansion for a ferry, as well as a potential airport expansion.
The proposed Gig Harbor to downtown Seattle route was listed in an appendix among routes that “were not moved forward to profiling as the result of stakeholder meetings.” That also included a route from Suquamish, in Kitsap County, to downtown Seattle.
“The City of Gig Harbor expressed that potential landing sites in their community were ... incompatible with potential POF use and the city’s vision for its waterfront, including recreational and economic uses in the area,” the study said, using the acronym for Passenger Only Ferry.
Seven other potential routes will get a “more detailed assessment,” including Tacoma to Seattle, Bellingham to Friday Harbor, Whidbey Island to Everett; Kenmore, Kirkland and Renton to the University of Washington, and Renton to South Lake Union.
Ferry a non-starter
Gig Harbor Mayor Kit Kuhn said a ferry was always going to be a non-starter for him.
“The old ferry landing is not at the height to walk on to a ferry without millions of dollars of expenses,” Kuhn said.
Between 1928 and 1950, when the first Narrows Bridge was built, a ferry ran between Point Fosdick, Fox Island and Titlow Beach on the Tacoma side. Between 1917 and 1928, the ferry docked inside the harbor, near where the Tides Tavern is now.
Kuhn said low tides and “boat activity” that might otherwise obstruct a ferry.
“We have kayakers, we have paddleboarders, we have sailboats,” Kuhn said. “The ferry would actually probably be delayed by ten or fifteen minutes to get in with all this traffic. Our harbor is too small to risk impacting our existing maritime enjoyment of our community.”
There also were concerns about the potential environmental impact.
“We also have beaches there that we would erode,” Kuhn said. “It would open us up to possible lawsuits.”
Kuhn also worried about the effect on the atmosphere of the harbor.
“On the surface, it sounds great,” Kuhn said. “It would actually sacrifice a lot of our quaint harbor with how people like to use our waterfront.”
Drive to Southworth
Kuhn said for those looking for a shorter commute to Seattle than driving, there are still other options.
“It wouldn’t benefit enough people, I feel, whereas I think it’s actually wiser — which I’ve done many times — is you drive up to Southworth or you drive to Bremerton,” Kuhn said. “Catch the ferry there.”
Now, Kuhn said he doesn’t have any worries that the location will be seeing a ferry anytime soon though expressed optimism it could work elsewhere.
“I’m not concerned,” Kuhn said. “They can proceed with the cities that wanted it, and they’ve changed some of the routes already because of some cities not wanting it. I think it’s great for Tacoma, I think it makes sense for a lot of cities.”
Reach Chase Hutchinson at chase.hutchinson@thenewstribune.com
This story was originally published February 4, 2021 at 1:59 PM.
