Keystone ferry bill sails through Haugen committee

OLYMPIA — A bill sponsored by, Sen. Mary Margaret Haugen, D-Camano Island, directing the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) to construct a new vessel for the Keystone – Port Townsend route sailed through the Senate Transportation Committee despite Republican opposition.

“I’m encouraged that we’ll soon have a car-carrying ferry on lease to restore full-service to the Keystone run,” said Haugen. “But that’s just a stop-gap measure, which is why I’m moving to get new ferries built for this run as fast as we can.”

Senate Bill 6794 requires the construction of at least one ferry for service on routes like Keystone that require vessels with a car-carrying capacity of no more than 100 vehicles.

The bill does not designate a specific vessel design, but Haugen is hopeful that the ferry being leased by Washington State Ferries (WSF) from Pierce County will work well enough to allow it to serve as the model for replacing the Steel Electrics that were recently retired from service. The actual number of vessels ordered will be finalized once WSF has had a chance to evaluate the performance of the Pierce County ferry on the Keystone route.

“Some people think the Steilacoom II design isn’t perfect for this route because of its small size, but they forget about the benefits of its shallow draft — I think any sailings we cancel because of rough weather might be made up for with fewer cancellations due to low tides.”

Haugen pointed out that the legislative process is designed to take time, but that she is working with her colleagues to expedite the process as much as possible.

“We had testimony on my bill on Monday, and we passed it on Tuesday — which is as fast as anyone can do anything around here,” said Haugen. “There are a few people who think we should wait for a perfect ferry to be designed from the ground up. But we’re talking about restoring a vital economic link to entire communities, and I don’t think people in towns like Coupeville and Port Townsend can afford to wait that long.”

Haugen also expressed surprise that there was some partisan opposition to restoring car-carrying ferry service as soon as possible, and that three of the Republicans on the committee voted against the bill.

“It’s frustrating to me that they’re willing to play politics with an issue like this,” said Haugen. “They’re very willing to complain, but none of them has sponsored an alternate solution.”

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