WASHINGTON STATE FERRIES 20-YEAR LONG-RANGE PLAN

R G. Deardorf

Document Type

Journal Article

Publication Date

1999

Subject Area

operations - capacity, infrastructure - vehicle, land use - planning

Keywords

Washington State Ferries, Vehicle capacity, Terminals (Transportation), Strategies, Strategic planning, Priorities, Objectives, Long range planning, Investments, Investment requirements, Intermodal terminals, Goals, Financial analysis, Ferries, Depots (Transportation)

Abstract

The long-range plan of Washington State Ferries is the culmination of several years of effort to develop a 20-year service and investment strategy based on sound transportation data and forecast-model techniques and to incorporate local and regional expectations of ferry service. Components of the plan are set out in a sequence of necessary investments that address current and anticipated terminal and vessel deficiencies. Six new passenger-only vessels, four new vehicle and passenger vessels, and several major new multimodal terminals are included in the plan. Three alternative service strategies were analyzed for each of the four service subareas. From these, a single draft plan was prepared that took into account reasonable assumptions about financial constraints. A thorough public and agency review has resulted in several proposed changes to the plan. These revisions include a reallocation of additional vehicle carrying capacity from an area where there was not consensus on the solution to areas where there was consensus that the draft plan was deficient. The final plan identifies several major strategies for the four major geographical subareas within the ferry system's service area to accommodate the projected increase in traffic growth and is balanced within likely farebox and tax revenue constraints.

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