Prepare for a Vehicle-Free Ferry Next Week

If you are the one person left who doesn’t yet know about next week’s ferry restrictions on the Bainbridge-Seattle run, this article is for you.

Washington State Ferries have announced that from September 7 (Thursday) at 1 a.m. until September 13 (Wednesday) at 3.a.m, no vehicles—autos, trucks, buses, motorcycles, electric scooters, or bicycles—will be allowed on the Seattle-Bainbridge run. In addition, the route will be operating on a one-boat schedule. WSF says, “We will make accommodations for emergency medical vehicles, in coordination with local emergency services.”

No restrictions have been announced for ADA passengers’ wheelchairs or other power-driven mobility devices that are normally allowed to use the passenger walkway.

The reason for the restriction is that WSF will be installing a new passenger walkway on the Bainbridge side. The six days are needed to set up the equipment, unload the pre-assembled walkway from a barge, install the walkway, and disassemble the equipment.

Travel Alternatives

WSF is not leaving you hanging—entirely. They’re adding a third ferry to the Edmonds-Kingston route but only when crew and an extra vessel are available. The third ferry has no set schedule.

In addition, passengers with Seattle-Bainbridge muti-ride tickets may use them on the Edmonds-Kingston, Seattle-Bremerton, or Fauntleroy-Southworth runs.

If you are a bike commuter, you can lock up your bike in the Kitsap Transit Bike Barn on the Bainbridge side (the barn offers 70 indoor and 33 outdoor bike parking spots) or in a secure, covered lock-up area set up near the Marion Street exit on the Seattle side (opening September 6 at noon). This area will be partly staffed by Coleman Dock security guards from September 7 until September 14 from 4:45 a.m. until 10 p.m. when the area will be locked up nightly. Bike security is not guaranteed. All bikes will need to be removed by 6 p.m. on the 14th.

Bike share in Seattle is another option available to commuters.

As far as ferry parking goes, expect it to fill up on the Bainbridge side—remember that there is no commuter parking in downtown Winslow.

Reason for the Restrictions

The vehicle holding lanes will be used for the project equipment. WSF says that the walkway will arrive in four spans, the largest of which weighs 45 tons and measures 199 feet long and 18 feet wide.

Bicycles will not be allowed in passenger areas or the terminal waiting areas and they will not be allowed on the passenger walkway. The reason, explains WSF, is that “With higher pedestrian volumes, it is not feasible or safe for us to mix pedestrians with bicycles and scooters both inside the ferry and in the terminal waiting areas. Neither the Bainbridge Island or Colman Dock terminals or passenger walkways were designed to mix walk-on and bicycle traffic—even during short durations.”

You can read more here about what people are calling Ferrymaggedon.