Citizens from both sides of Bellingham Bay see the potential Lummi Island ferry route change having opposing outcomes
DECISION PENDING IN LUMMI FERRY RELOCATION
BELLINGHAM— Bellingham’s Fairhaven waterfront remains a contender in the deliberation for the fate of the Lummi Island ferry. The decision to relocate the current Lummi Island ferry terminal from Gooseberry Point to the Port of Bellingham’s Alaska ferry dock would affect Fairhaven citizens as well as Lummi Island ferry patrons.
The Lummi Nation’s present goal is to negotiate a new 25-year lease, directed at keeping the Gooseberry Point dock in its current location. The other available option is for the Lummi Island to divert the ferry route to a new terminal in Fairhaven. Although a decision is still pending, members of both the Fairhaven and Lummi island communities have begun analyzing the potential repercussions.
Fairhaven citizens see optimism in the route change.
Vicki Dodd, an employee of Inside Passage gift shop in the Alaska ferry terminal, expressed a positive attitude towards economic changes that could follow the move.
“We don’t get much business as it is,” Dodd said of the current Alaska ferry district. “The foot traffic exposure would be beneficial for business.”
Owner of Fairhaven Smoke Shop, Michael Waters, thought the move would be constructive to businesses in the Fairhaven community as well.
“I see no downsides to [the route change],” Waters said. “I’d love to see it happen.”
While Fairhaven citizens seem optimistic about the potential economic boost of the route change, patrons of the current Lummi Island route have a different perspective.
Current Lummi Island ferry patrons foresee negative outcome.
Kevin Wolfe, a Lummi Island property owner and frequent ferry patron, was not happy about the proposed ferry route change.
“It’s gonna suck big time!” Wolfe said. “Longer waits, service interruption, the Chief is not capable of making [the trip from Lummi Island to the Alaska ferry terminal] in severe weather.”
Steven Thomas, who uses the current ferry as part of his commute, voiced an opinion of upholding the tradition between the two locations.
“Traffic from Gooseberry Point to Lummi Island has been going on for 1000s of years,” Thomas said. “It’s going to stay that way.”
Currently, the Whatcom County Council has approved an interim agreement with the Lummi Nation to keep operating the ferry from the Gooseberry Point location.
The Lummi Nation’s goal of keeping the ferry terminal at Gooseberry point is what they see as the optimal plan for the majority of ferry patrons, however it would come at a financial cost.
According to a document by Frank Abart, head of the Whatcom County Ferry Division, the new Gooseberry Point terminal has an projected cost of $17,413,500. The terminal is currently in need of physical renovation, as well as the development of new safety measures.
The change in route would increase the trip duration from five minutes, to about 50-minutes.
