WA: Bainbridge lawmaker proposes 21st-century mosquito fleet ferry service

A lawmaker who grew up on Bainbridge Island and now represents northern Kitsap County in the state House thinks he has a solution for the state's troubled ferry system.

Smaller, passenger-only boats run by many different agencies.

If that sounds familiar, that's because it is. Rep. Greg Nance, D- Bainbridge Island, has introduced the Mosquito Fleet Act, a nod to " Washington's maritime heritage and the original mosquito fleet that helped build the Washington we love," the bill states.

If enacted, House Bill 1923 would create a grant program to fund walk-on ferries, with the aim of quickly sending the money to "restore reliable ferry service and get boats back on the water faster and cheaper," Nance said.

A more specific goal post, Nance said, is to build up foot ferry service before Seattle hosts the FIFA Men's World Cup next year.

Nance said the bill calls for speed, with grant money available July 1. The initial funding request is $50 million, and the program would be overseen by the County Road Administration Board, which delivers money to the state's 39 county road departments.

The bill also would open up the type of public agencies that can stand up passenger ferry service. Any local government — ports, counties, transit agencies or tribes — could apply for money to buy a new or used ferry, build a dock, run the service or simply look into the possibility and finances of having a ferry system.

Currently, that power is limited to Kitsap County, because of its location, and King County, due to its size.

"We've got to move faster here. The fastest way to do it is passenger-only ferries," Nance said in an interview. "As Gov. Ferguson has said, 'When there is a crisis, we gotta act like it.' This, to me, is a crisis."

At a House Transportation Committee public hearing Wednesday, dozens of ferry riders and officials spoke in favor of Nance's bill. They represented the ports of Tacoma, Olympia, South Whidbey and Everett, as well as the Washington Public Ports Commission; city governments in Seattle, Bainbridge Island, Bremerton and Des Moines; San Juan and Kitsap counties; groups like Kitsap Community Resources, VashonBePrepared and the Bainbridge Island Downtown Association; and the Sailors' Union of the Pacific.

Amy Drayer, director of Islanders for Ferry Action, told the committee that having more ferry service "isn't convenient, it's vital," and that Washington State Ferries isn't meeting the needs of residents. "Our state highways just aren't functioning right now."

The bill's only detractor was Donna Sandstrom, founder and director of the advocacy group The Whale Trail, who said more passenger-only ferries would increase "noise and disturbance" on Puget Sound and "create chaos" for the endangered orca population.

Rep. Julia Reed, D- Seattle, was the sole voice of skepticism on the committee and pressed city, county and port officials about their ability to operate the ferry system with local dollars once they were running, and whether they would need state assistance.

Most deferred answering Reed's questions, except Jeff Coughlin, a Bremerton City Council member, who responded by saying no public transit is paid for entirely by fares and all rely on state or federal dollars.

Kitsap Transit Fast Ferries and King County Water Taxi both receive state support for their ferry service.

Still, Reed's line of questioning echoed doubts from Democratic Party leadership on the Legislature's transportation committees. Both Sen. Marko Liias, D- Edmonds, and Rep. Jake Fey, D- Tacoma, have said this session will be one of delaying projects, not adding new spending.

Nance said he recognized the budget difficulties but said the state needed to increase ferry service because it was one of the "best uses of very limited dollars."

To help fund his program, Nance said the state should delay projects that aren't needed right away and haven't started yet, pointing to a multimillion-dollar traffic safety project that would build a roundabout near his home as something that could wait.

The bill wouldn't give more responsibility to WSF, which "has its hands full," Nance said. The state system is in the early days of a nearly $4 billion project to completely electrify the fleet by 2040. That includes retrofitting six diesel ferries to hybrid electric, building 16 new hybrid-electric vessels and adding charging stations to 16 terminals.

In the meantime, the system has been running a reduced schedule for years primarily due to a lack of boats and doesn't anticipate returning to full service until at least 2028.

"I have met dozens of people who have lost jobs, missed chemotherapy appointments, missed midterms or finals, missed a flight, missed birthdays or Christmas," Nance said. "Communities are deeply impacted. WSF is working around the clock to get service restored, and I commend them. But every cancellation puts (ferry passengers) closer to the edge."

A many ferried future

Nance was also animated by the idea of Washington's ferry history, which once had an "often jerry rigged, usually reliable, occasionally less seaworthy than they should be" fleet of ferries connecting the many communities along Puget Sound's 1,300-mile shoreline, according to HistoryLink.

Those boats welded the region together and helped the most isolated residents survive. WSF was born from that ragtag armada, and the agency's troubles could now hasten its return.

Besides the historic, privately run ferry fleets, Nance said Kitsap and King counties have shown foot ferries run by smaller agencies can effectively buttress the state system with quicker, more nimble boats.

The King County Water Taxi service began in 2009 and currently connects downtown Seattle with West Seattle and Vashon Island. Kitsap County Fast Ferries was started in 2017 and links Bremerton, Kingston and Southworth to downtown Seattle.

"They've demonstrated that we can be very agile and cost-conscious and economic," Nance said.

WSF, for its part, has been supportive of the county-run ferries. State law prohibits the agency from operating passenger-only ferries, but its leadership has said foot ferries give commuters more options across Puget Sound.

That is the goal, Nance said. But he added that a new mosquito fleet could bring other benefits.

Nance envisioned ferries on Washington waters beyond Puget Sound.

He pointed to Lake Washington, which had ferry service before its bridges were built. The ferry Leschi made its final run between Kirkland and Seattle in 1950, 10 years after the floating bridge was built.

Nance also mentioned Grays Harbor and said a ferry ride between Westport and Ocean Shores could serve tourists and locals alike. The passenger ferry El Matador ran that route from 1986 until 2008 for a $12 round trip but was shut down after "too much sand and silt (built up) at the entrance and inside the Ocean and Shores Marina, and no governmental entity (was) prepared to apply for dredging permits," according to an article in The Seattle Times.

The Columbia River Gorge could also see ferries, Nance said.

" The Columbia River has a really rich history of passenger-only ferries," Nance said, noting that connecting the Gorge's wineries and other amenities with boats and bus service could lure a new type of visitor to those areas.

Nance also said he was planning a second bill if this first succeeds, which would enhance the state's shipbuilding industry to manufacture "hundreds of vessels" for the 36 other states that have some form of ferry service.

"It's the next phase of American shipbuilding," Nance said. "That is a jobs program, a union program."

Nance recognized his bill may have bad timing and acknowledged that he and his colleagues were facing a "very, very brutal set of budget difficulties."

But he said the budget and ferry crises present an opportunity "to look at that distant horizon" of a "more connected, economically viable future."

He described that future as one where a Bellingham resident could take a ferry to Des Moines for a shorter hop to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. Or where someone in Bellevue could take their bicycle onto light rail, ride to downtown Seattle and hop on a ferry to Port Townsend, where they could roll all the way to La Push on the Olympic Discovery Trail.

"We can think bolder and take on even bigger challenges as a state," he said. "And we should."

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