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Posted on 11/23/2007 2:38:04 PM PST by sionnsar
SEATTLE -- The emergency closure of the Keystone-to-Port Townsend ferry run because of concerns about is a reality that state officials have been bracing for since at least the end of June.
State Transportation Secretary Paula Hammond's decision to shut down the run Tuesday stunned many, particularly coming on the eve of the Thanksgiving holiday rush.
But Washington State Ferries' e-mails, public relations plans and other internal records show state officials all the way up to Gov. Chris Gregoire have spent months quietly preparing for a possible shutdown.
...
Tuesday's decision to pull the Steel Electrics from service came in spite of an Oct. 30 report to the Legislature's Joint Transportation Committee that described the Steel Electrics as "generally considered to be in good condition."
That report followed months of assurances from MacDonald and other ferry system officials that the vessels are safe.
...
The Steel Electrics are the oldest ferries operating on salt water in the nation and haven't met federal safety standards since the 1950s. At least one state lawmaker has questions about why they were pulled now.
"Why did they wait so long to decide they were unsafe and why did they choose the day before Thanksgiving for a community that pretty much relies on the ferries for getting in and out?" asked state Rep. Lynn Kessler, D-Hoquiam, who serves on the House transportation committee.
"I hope they were not operating them unsafely knowingly," she said. "I'm kind of curious how they got by that long if they were that unsafe."
(Excerpt) Read more at heraldnet.com ...
First pic, guy on the right looks like a Syrian.
“The Steel Electrics are the oldest ferries operating on salt water in the nation and haven’t met federal safety standards since the 1950s.”
I call BS on this statement. The state has only been operating the ferries since 1951, there probably weren’t any federal standards in those days, and all of those boats have had at least one significant rebuild since the state has owned them, maybe more than that. Look up pictures of what they used to look like...you’d never know they were the same vessels if no one told you.
This is one more attempt to extort money from the taxpayer. Our whole highway system, of which the ferry network is part, is a mess. This state squanders so much money on feel-good social programs and endless studies it makes me sick. How many new boats could be built with what DSHS loses in the wash?
Washington is the only state that doesn’t get a piece of the action from indian casinos. How many boats could be built with a small percentage of those dollars? If I lived or worked in Port Townsend I’d be fit to kill somebody.
Isnt a “worse case scenario” more like a ferry collapsing and people drowning?
Ya know....like a bridge in MN
Now one can understand the timing of this decision....
This is a disaster solely caused by the lack of courage on the part of all of the branches of Washington State’s government. Nobody has the stones to do what is necessary to find the revenue. I suspect that the ferries are being held hostage to a future tax increase. Nothing less could be expected from the Soviet of Washington.
One little thing about your post though: Some of the ferries are indeed 50 years old. They were built in San Francisco in 1927 and plied the waters down there before being purchased by Washington.
“This is one more attempt to extort money from the taxpayer....” and hence they close them down on the biggest travel day of the year...
I’m aware of the age of these boats. Living in Anacortes all my life I have watched both these and many others now long retired since I was a little kid. In fact, my uncle hired on with the state system as a purser in ‘51 and retired after a career that saw him local terminal manager for twenty years.
My point was that these boats have not operated on the edge their entire length of service here in Washington. They may finally have reached the end of the line but they’ve not been neglected to the peril of their riders. This is yet one more scam in the long list compiled by our democrat “leaders” to fleece the public out of more of their dollars. I refuse to believe anything else.
The state has caused what I believe is an over two year delay in the building of new boats by muffing up the bidding proccess, and now they just shut down for what is an apparently punitive measure against the citizens under the guise of safety concerns.
This is just one more example of socialist arrogance and childish decision making mucking up the works - they simply don't know what they're doing.
You’ll notice they didn’t do this at the height of tourist season and before the election. This wasn’t for safety but simply for retaliation. For years I expected them to run ‘em until one sank. I carry my own life vest in the trunk. Of course they can relent from public pressure and then if one sinks they can claim the riders demanded to drown. This stinks from somewhere over my left shoulder. Washington is just becoming South Canada. Have you noticed the lower the dollar goes the faster the Canadains drive down here?
A bunch of us rode our motorcycles down to Oregon in July and rode the ferry in question. Coming home on the Sunday we almost didn’t get back because they had taken one of the two boats off the run while we were gone and all trips were booked for the rest of the evening. Luckily, they can always find room to squeeze bikes on.
A few weeks ago we were amazed at the pictures of one of the newer ferries and how it was being tossed around in the windstorm. I sure would not have wanted to have had my bike on that ride as I’m sure any that were must have fallen over. I know the old boats would have had trouble.
As for the falling dollar, the merchants in the outlet malls are going to have a great Christmas season.
Good idea to use the tie-downs, like when you carry the bike in a pickup or utility trailer.
They were never found.
So just how many fairies are there in Washington?
I have a feeling there’s going to be a car bomb or truck bomb on a big ferry up there one day, and there’s absolutely nothing to stop them from doing it. :-(
A ticking time bomb, of sorts.
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