One has to wonder how long the cars had to wait for the bikes to unload on Bike to Work Day. (Photo: RedBox Pictures)
At the request of Governor Gregoire and the Washington Legislature, a panel of ferry system managers from around the United States was convened to assess Washington State Ferries planning, management and operations. Thursday, Sept. 9, the panel released its report and recommendations for improving ferry service in Washington state.
Unfortunately, the news isn’t good for ferry bicycle commuters. If you’re coming in to Seattle from Bainbridge or Bremerton, and planning on riding the last few blocks to your office – you’ll just need to cool your heels and wait… and wait… and wait.
Loading and Unloading of Vehicles and Passengers
WSF is seeking ways to expedite loading operations for several reasons. Currently, bicycle loading/unloading is a challenge since they are first off the vessel and can impede the unloading of cars. This creates a safety issue, which is more important than the delay, with the anxious drivers that have waited to unload now following the bikes down the road.
Panel recommends that cars be unloaded ahead of bikes.
Safety is of the paramount importance with efficiency second. The Panel recommends that a trial project be undertaken to change the loading/unloading sequence with bicycles being loaded last and unloaded last. This allows better separation of vehicles and bicycles and gives the Mate more control over the space allocated to bikes. Bikes are also slower than cars and can slow the disembarkation of those they are in front of. By holding back bikes, it also avoids the need for bicyclists to move through the car deck with their bikes in order to get to the front of the vessel. By off loading after the vehicles, bikes will not be sharing the road at the same time as the disembarking vehicles, allowing for a margin of safety.
Let’s think about this for a minute: the very people who are helping the state comply with the Climate Law, and the VMT Law, the people who are taking up little space on the ferries and not congesting the roads around terminals – it’s those people who are a problem. They’re a problem because they hold up cars. They frustrate and delay vehicle operators. Note the code words, like “anxious drivers.” (I wonder if “anxious” is a technical term and how the anxiety was measured. Did they count the number of sad faces spotted through windshields?)
Despite the transparent phrasing regarding delayed and “anxious” car-users, WSF tries to phrase the issue in the context of safety. One assumes that they mean that its unsafe for bicyclists to be passed by motorists. If that’s the case, then perhaps it would be safer if we all just stopped riding our bicycles – because we all get passed by cars somewhat regularly. Snark aside, in the 79-page report, no evidence or data is presented to support the assertion that load order has any impact on safety.
Bike commuters departing the ferry are absorbed onto city streets in minutes. (Photo: RedBox Pictures)
Finally, WSF goes on to offer a whopper of a red-herring by stating, “By holding back bikes, it also avoids the need for bicyclists to move through the car deck with their bikes.” As anyone who commutes on the ferries is aware, WSF crews don’t allow bicyclists to walk their bikes forward, for fear that cars may be scratched by bikes moving between the rows. (I guess cars are impervious to scratches from strollers, handbags and clothing with metal buckles. Moreover, one wonders why they even allow motorists to open their doors, as they’ve been known to ding other cars too.)
Let Washington State Ferries know what you think. Email Ray Deardorf, WSF Planning Director and Jill Satran in the Governor’s office to let them know what you think.
Respectfully, I’m going to part ways with CBC on this one. I’m in no rush to get in front of cars when I’m on a bike. Many ferry terminals have steep inclines (ferries operate at sea level, and I ride on land, right?) and I’d rather the cars simply go up the hill, and I’ll follow them.
A ferry has a finite number of cars on it. Meaning when those cars are past the bikes, there are no more cars coming up the road. It stands to reason that by reducing the number of passes in a finite time, safety is increased. Guess I don’t see the need for a formal statistical study.
Fairly, the report contains inaccuracies. Bikes don’t impede cars any more that cars in front of other cars impede cars. Bikes are simply other types of vehicles. Where priorities are simple to implement to increase separation of different modes, I’m all for it. Like bike lanes.
Thank you for your comments.
One of our most significant concerns is folks coming into the city having to wait 15-20 minutes to complete a 3-minute ride to their jobs – while those people who choose to bring cars into a congested downtown environment get preferential treatment.
Had WSF actually provided any data whatsoever, e.g.: bicycle boardings, vehicle delay, crashes, etc., to support their assertions — we wouldn’t have anything to gripe about. Unfortunately, it sounds to us like unsubstantiated anecdotes were the drivers, pun intended, in the decision making process.
Did anyone consider adding a bike lane to the ferry exit road?
I suppose one of my biggest gripes with this article is the emotion behind it. I agree that WSF’s findings are non-conclusive, but the whole “you’ll just need to cool your heels and wait… and wait… and wait” bit does nothing to help cyclists. Just state the facts.
1) Why should cyclists get preferential treatment when we try so hard to have the same rights as a vehicle on the road? Cars at the back of the ferry have to “wait… and wait… and wait” so why are we any different? You make it sound like we’ve just been moved to the back of the bus.
2) You sound like the motorists who complained about the Nickerson road diet. “They’re taking away my lane”, “Why change something that has worked for years”, or “Now my commute is going to take X minutes longer.”
Granted, we have every right to complain just as everyone else, but of all the battles to choose from… seriously? Being first off the ferry to last? Heaven forbid the CBC spends time on pushing for more bike lanes, slowing traffic down, maintaining the current trains or finishing the “Missing Link.” Nope, being last to disembark on the ferries all of the sudden moved to the top of your list like it’s some huge blow to cyclists.
Spend time trying to gain the respect of other motorists. This whole elitist attitude that cyclists and CBC has really does no good and has been the reason why I have not joined this organization. Yes, stick up for the little man, but pick and choose your battles more wisely.
Three out of the five expert advisors represent passenger ferry systems, while WSF has done everything they can to focus on moving cars. As such, I’m not sure how credible the recommendations for car-specific issues would be. Near as I can tell, the Bainbridge-Seattle route was the only one the expert advisers actually rode.
But bicycles represent a safety hazard because motorists are impatient? Excuse me? Impatience is the LAST thing we need to reward at the ferry terminal. If you want a quick entry or exit from the ferry, leave your car at home. If you must bring your car, just deal with the associated extra costs in time and money.
And will cyclists be held to board last so the bikes are at the back, or will the cars offload by all the waiting cyclists crowded on the front? How is that less of a hazard? Or will cyclist not be allowed on the car deck until the cars are off, which would no doubt make the bicycle offload take much more time than it does now.
The recommendation is quite bizarre indeed.
Though I’ve been known to wait at disembarking for the ferry traffic to thin out, and then take my place at the back, especially when touring, the port at Coleman Dock presents no issue with cars waiting for cyclists. Traffic disperses very quickly into the street grid and bikes just don’t factor into the auto wait times.
That cannot be said for the traffic lights at Winslow Way and HWY 305, the light at the intersection of Alaskan Way, and the light at the end of the dock in Edmonds. Indeed, if WSDOT is so concerned about wait times during loading and unloading, they should automate the lights so that cars don’t have a red when they unload. Of course, they will all have to wait at the very next red light so, I guess it doesn’t help except locally.
Back to my experience: most of my conflicts with other ferry users have been with the motorcyclists who seem to have a special kind loathing for cyclists. Also, do we have to breathe all the idling car’s exhaust fumes while we wait at the back or will there be some new rule to ameliorate the stench?
I am a daily ferry commuter. I prefer to bike but have been driving for a couple of months because of an injury.
Biking or driving are my only options as I work a late shift and cannot take the bus home without a horrible (cold and tired) wait.
It is not an easy thing for me to ride my bike to work; I really have to psych myself up for it. This is especially more difficult on rainy or cold days. If I was faced with the prospect of waiting 30-40 minutes (I get there early just in case of a delay with a train through SODO) in the rain/cold on a ferry dock? I definitely would not ride. End of story.
This suggestion in no way takes into account the casual rider who might just ride more if the environment is a little bit more hospitable.
Also, I have never felt unsafe in the current loading/unloading situation. Not at all, not once. Even riding up those tall low-tide ramps!
Why penalize folks who ride by waiting either on the dock (cold and wet) or on the ferry (cold wet AND very likely windy) to get on the boat or off the boat? It will not encourage more bike riders. I PROMISE.
As a driver? I am not anxious to get off the boat. Seriously, that is the least of my concerns. I can wait 45 seconds for the bikers to disembark, no problem.
If bikers had to wait they would most likely be caught up in ferry traffic more than they already are, snaking between lanes and such, because of that long wait getting off Coleman dock. Bicyclists are much faster than stopped cars, after all. THAT sounds unsafe and anxiety-ridden to me, for all involved.
If it is not broke don’t tweak it. I can just imagine the cyclist weaving in and out of slow moving cars and then slowing the pace down cause they end up in front of the line anyway.
Assessment says “Bikes are also slower than cars”.
Under these circumstances that is not the case. Bikes are faster than cars because they take up less space and do not ever get backed up. Bikes do not cause gridlock but cars do. This observation tells me their info is not based on data but on opinion.
When I exit a ferry, I get off fast, get to the side of the road and get out of the way quickly. Once I’m past the terminal exit and onto the main road it is often a couple minutes before car traffic catches up. As was mentioned, it’s cars that are backing up cars.
I believe we are feeling a backlash from some of our other perceived “takings’ like that road diet thing.
I’m frankly worried this is some arbitrary and capricious issue raised by someone who doesn’t commute regularly, I too am interested in hearing specific examples that demonstrate the safety risks since I also feel like I’m not in anyone’s way when I load/unload.
It will only be a minor inconvenience if I have to load/unload last so long as this doesn’t raise the risk I could be bumped from a “full” boat once we’re denied access to the front of the boats – which by the way affords much more room than the back of a loaded boat and so lessens the risk of bike contact with parked cars.
All I’m looking for is consistent load/unload policy regarding bikes on the boats. This varies from one boat/crew to another, each crew insists their policy is “how we’ve been doing it for years.”
This might also be a good time for WSF to remind us why cyclists pay the extra $1/trip or $20/year. We pay the passenger fare and don’t take away spaces that could be used by cars or motorcycles, so I’ve (wrongly?) understood priority load/unload was the benefit in return for the additional fee.
This doesn’t make sense to me. When you get off at Bremerton cars and bikes take separate routes after leaving the ferry. How am I holding up anyone? At Seattle I’m on Alaskan way before the first batch of cars even gets off the ferry property, again, who am I holding up?
If I have to wait for car traffic to clear, does this mean car drivers are committing the heinous sin of impeding me?
And what Mike Perry is saying is correct, I’ve had several different loading patterns from different crews on the same ferry run. The first time I rode the Southworth ferry I was nearly denied the ride because I didn’t know when I was to get on and the crewman didn’t tell me, except to say I would have to wait until the next run because I didn’t get on at the right time.
I’ve also had crewmen tell me to walk my bike, and others tell me to ride my bike, on the same ferry. I’ve never seen anyone fall who was riding but I have seen people slip whilst pushing their bikes.
I don’t mind getting on and off last if this will make someone who isn’t a cyclist happy, but I don’t want to be bumped. This really doesn’t sound like safety to me, where’s the numbers on accidents?
This sounds more like some driver got their knickers twisted because they couldn’t drive 35 mph on the unloading pier because that cyclist was using the road. And trust me, drivers ARE hitting the gas on the unloading ramps.
I want that $1 surcharge removed. I’m not taking up any car space .
I spent the better part of 17 years making the commute from Bainbridge to Seattle via motorcycle and automobile. During that time I was one of those that hated bicycles and shook my fist at them as they “blocked” the motorized vehicles coming off the ferry. I was one of the worst offenders. But like Levy, the tax collector, I finally saw the light and logic behind bicycling. I not only have converted over, but have made bicycling an integral part of my daily life. All hail the bicycle!
Seriously, having been on the other side of the fence, I understand the mentality behind the panel that is recommending these changes for the sake of safety. I can’t remember how many times I have heard people on the boat utter the phrase, “One of these days a bicyclist is going to be killed getting off the ferry”. It was from watching the great minority of bicyclists who really haven’t a clue. Sure, the vast majority of cyclists stay out of the way and know how to go with the flow of traffic, but what people remember are the few that almost get killed by their lack of bicycling know-how and common sense.
So how do we as a cycling community address this perception? I won’t say “mis-perception”, because it is not. The few ARE impacting the majority in this case. The state is saying to us loud and clear – “get control over your ranks or you will lose your loading privileges”. It may not be a fair message, considering the finger can just as easily be pointed in the direction of many automobile drivers, but it is a reality we must accept. We cannot stick our heads in the sand and ignore the problem.
CBC has been instrumental in promoting education and I credit the club’s CTS series in teaching fundamental riding skills that has made me a safe, confident, law abiding and courteous rider in mixed traffic. Great job CBC! I personally believe that all bicyclists should go through a similar training experience before venturing out onto the streets, young and old alike.
While I understand David Hiller’s position on WSF’s action with this article, I don’t necessarily agree with his approach. Trying to tell the panel, which is comprised of people just like I used to be, that bicyclists are not a concern for safety is pointless. They see what I saw. Time and time again.
Here is an idea that we could pitch to the ferry system: Bicyclists with rider education cards would be allowed to load / off-load ahead of cars, while others would wait until last. It could be as simple as proving that you know how to enter and exit the ferry holding area properly. Combine that with bicycle exit lanes and we might convince others that we are addressing and acknowledging the issue of the few rouge, unsafe riders. Someday I hope to see legislation deal with idiot automobile drivers in the same way. I mean come on – impatience is not a reason to run over a bicyclist! But it is hard to argue with a ton of metal being pushed along by 200hp.
Enough of my soap box.
I suspect a powerful legislator’s spouse had an issue with a cyclist and wants action NOW! The legislator is tired of hearing about it ad nauseum. I’m serious about this. This is an arbitrary shuffling of the deck chairs that will have no meaningful affect on safety or speed. Oh I forgot, there are no deck chairs on the ferries. That was the Titanic I was thinking about.
I’m sorry, but claiming that cyclists deserve special treatment on the ferries because of the Climate Law just reinforces the idea that we are a bunch of whining, holier-than-thou elitists. Is this really something to go to battle over?
Oh, so *now* CBC has a problem with cyclists going to the back of the boat. Hey David, why on February 28th, 2010 did CBC implore WSF to make regular bicycle passengers load on after car drivers to Bainbridge Island?
Seems WSF thought it was, and continues to be, a good idea. Great job!
RE: us vs them
When members of your own group behave badly, it is straight forward to be nuanced about the behavior of the individuals. When members of another group behave badly, that nuanced perception fails and the group is behaving badly. This is basic stereotyping at work and everyone is susceptible, and related to the fundamental attribution error described here: http://psystenance.com/2010/03/15/the-fundamental-attribution-error-in-transportation-choice/ (and Jarrett Walker’s followup commentary)
But the immediate point still stands: the facts in the report supporting the recommendation for changing bike offload are sketchy at best. It makes me wonder about the validity of the recommendations in the rest of the report.
[...] outrageous car-centric idea comes buried in a Washington State Ferries report and recommendations for improving ferry service: Bikes should have to wait for cars before [...]
I have seen late comers on bicycles ride onto the boat after the cars loaded and they have very little problem moving to the front of the boat before departure. Having experienced first hand the safety hazards of having the bicycles off-load first, I think the recommendation has merit. Need an example? Off-loading on Bainbridge Island is scarier that heck as the cars come barreling up the road behind the bicycles after the bicycles clear the ramp. Additionally, I would like to see bicycles have their own dedicated lanes (and have bicyclists use them.)
Canadian perspective: I am working temporarily in Victoria, BC and have been taking the BC Ferry on the weekends to the lower Mainland. At the very least, bikes should load first. Why? First on gets the best seats or first in queue in the dining room. Also, you get to sit in a warm place instead of waiting in the cold and rain for the cars to load. There is no reason for cyclists to load last, and it is a suitable reward for taking the trouble to be environmental/energy-efficient/blah, blah, blah… DO NOT give up first-load privileges!
At Swartz Bay and at Tsawassen, cyclists have a good shoulder to ride on as later-unloading ferry traffic whizzes by. I would submit that unloading order is a non-issue as far as safety. If cyclists unload first, they must put up with moving car exhaust. If they unload last, they must put up with stationary car exhaust. Which is safer?
Having taken Washington State ferries on a couple of occasions, I never saw current loading/unloading order as an issue. If you want to avoid the car traffic on unloading, you unload and wait in the parking lot for the ferry traffic to pass, out of the exhaust. If you’re in a hurry, you ride up the road and put up with cars passing you; so what?
I think the bigger issue for cyclists on the WA ferries is their prohibition of cleats above the car deck. Does this include recessed SPD cleats? At least you can buy a beer on the WA ferries!
Wait, wouldn’t car drivers WANT biking to be encouraged as much as possible?? More bikers translates to freeing up more car spots on each ferry, which, ALAS!, might actually result in shorter total waits. I’d rather wait a few minutes for bikers to unload than wait an hour for the next ferry.
I’m an avid bicyclist and commute periodically on the Bainbridge route. Disembarking on the Winslow side on a crowded commuter boat is simply insane. There is no bike lane. Motorcyclists roar through the bicyclists. Cyclists ride along the centerline, sometimes into the oncoming traffic lanes, on their way up to the stoplight. It is simply chaos, and it is getting worse by the day. IMHO, it is a disaster waiting to happen. I don’t profess to have the answer, can only attest to my own experience.
p.s. your photo does not do justice to the unloading scene at the Bainbridge dock. Take another one off the 4:40 pm boat.
This is an issue that CBC should throw resources at. Thanks. Changing the policy that will make me get to my desk and home 15 minutes later each day is a big deal. I ride because I love to ride. But I commute because it’s less stressful, healthier and is one small way to help the planet every day. If I have to wait out in the cold and wet to get off/on longer I won’t do it. If I have to breath 50 hours of exhaust over the course of the year, I won’t do it. The safety issue is red herring. On the BI side, I’m halfway up the highway before the motorcycles are even offloaded. On the Seattle side, I’m practically in the shower in my Pioneer square office before the first third of cars are off. I do not get in the way of any car.
Finally I can’t see how WSF proposes to fit 100 bikes or more on the back of the boat. Since we can’t walk past cars to find railing spots, are they going to put less cars on? Are they going to have us lay down our valuable machines on the ground in an exercise in caos?
Implementing this policy will not improve safety or minimize damage from bikes scratching cars. It will seriously impact the health and convenience for those of us who are doing the responsbile thing by leaving the car in the garage, or worse it will take bike riders off the road. Maybe that’s what someone wants?
[...] Ferry commuters – Go to the back of the line! « Cascade Bicycle … (Photo RedBox Pictures). At the request of Governor Gregoire and the Washington Legislature, a panel of ferry system managers from around the United States was convened to assess Washington State Ferries planning, management and . [...]
Ludicrous. I commute by bicycle everyday back and forth between Seattle and Bainbridge every workday of the year. The biggest obstacle on the Seattle side to smooth auto disembarkation from any boat between say the 3:45 and the 6:20 to Bainbridge is the stoplight at the ferry terminal as well as the Bremerton boat unloading at the exact same time as the Bainbridge boat on certain runs. On the Winslow side, there simply is no impediment to cars getting off the boat caused by bicycles unloading first–it’s a system that’s been in place for years and there’s never been to my knowledge any instances of accidents or safety incidents from a bike offloading first. Yes, the motorcycles can overtake the bicyclists, but, as bikers too, they move around bikes and there is no safety issues. Plus, compare that with cars on the Seattle side, which have a far greater potential to hit bicycles than those offloading from any ferry.
The premise of favoring automobiles over non-motorized transportation in the ferry system bends the mind. It’s not that bicycles are “favored” over the cars–there’s at least two and sometimes three loads of bicycles before, during and after the cars. But putting the bikes at the last load would cause multiple problems. First, the ferry system would find itself inundated with 200 plus bicyclists in one load in the summer months, all of which must be placed somewhere on the back of the ferry. This might not be a big deal on mid-day boats. But it would be a huge deal on day-end boats where space at the back of the boat is frequently at a premium even with the 30 some odd bicycles that load last on any given commuter boat. By putting all the load last, it would also create a much more dangerous situation for the bicyclists boarding the boat. In my opinion, it’s the load with other cyclists, some of whom are seasoned commuters, some of whom are tentative on their rides, that proves the most potentially “dangerous” for falls, scrapes or bumps. Cars loading on a ferry, especially those that wait for you, are predictable. Bicyclists are not always so.
Given that (1) there is no apparent (let alone cited) “safety issue” with the present loading system; (2) the study does not illustrate how loading cyclists last would make anything safer; (3) there are more bicyclists now riding the boats than I’ve ever seen in the last five years; (4) any bicyclist who has ever tried to move his or her bicycle through the cars on the deck gets a strong scolding from the ferry workers; (5) bicyclists do not move their bikes from the rear to the front of the boat and might be compelled to try and do so more if forced to the rear of the vessel; and (5) cars offload well after motorcycles and bikes and pose no risk to cyclists (the city streets posing a far greater risk), this is simply a bad proposal and should be rejected.
Reading through the report, it says that by unloading bikes last, bikes do not need to work their way though the cars to get to the front.
Uh, doesn’t WSF load bikes first to get them up to the front first?
The impeding cars issue kind of bothers me. If I have to wait until the cars leave, isn’t that cars impeding me? Unless of course, I’m not a legimate road user as (perhaps I’m wrong) it seems to be saying.
I would say that impeding is NOT the issue, someone is always going to have to wait for someone. As most of the ferry landings have stop lights controling traffic right after landing that can slow or stop the flow of traffic leaving the ferry, I just don’t see bicycles as being the bottleneck.
I’m with those who vote for dedicated bike lanes. That said — There actually *is* a partial bike route off the Bainbridge ferry (to the left). I’m one of the minority that uses it. Based on Cat’s post above, it’s clearly not well enough marked. It also spills you back into traffic halfway up the hill unless you take a left and head off into the park (explaining why it’s popularity is pretty limited).
Bikes and cars currently have different rules for loading and offloading. Calling it “special privileges” for bikes is a bit odd. No-one wants bikes waiting in line with the cars and taking up space on the boats that cars can fit in, so any approach is going to have bikes doing something different than cars. On the Bainbridge runs, we currently have a carefully worked out system of early, mid and late loads. Changing from this system to loading and offloading all bicyclists after all cars would have these effects:
1) It means that all the bikes need to fit into the back of the boat. This cuts space for bikes effectively in half. On days when there are lots of bikes (about 50 is routine and over a 100 not uncommon), it will mean either loading fewer cars to allow enough space for all the bikes in back, or having bicyclists squeezing around the already-parked cars looking for a spot.
2) Those 50-100+ bicyclists will be trying to pass the last cars off the boat almost as soon as they are ride off. (I am *the slowest* cyclist on the Bainbridge commuter run and even I catch up to the last cars on those occasions when I offload after all the cars in Winslow.)
3) It would be unpleasant and time consuming for bicyclists. Apart from the fact that this would be a drag for me personally, I think it’s good public policy to encourage options that help reduce congestion (good for motorists) and pollution (good for us all).
Great comments, everyone! Thank you for sharing your perspectives. I hope you’re letting the decision-makers know, too.
@Cat: I figured the photos weren’t terribly representative, but they’re recent shots that we had on file. Please feel free to send me something new to include, shots from your phone are welcome.
@Cyclist Mike: the flavor of the post is mean to match the flavor of the blog. We like having a space where we can be more expressive (fun at times even!!) in our communication. We’re engaged on all the projects you mentioned (more bike lanes, slowing traffic down, maintaining the current trains or finishing the “Missing Link”) and more every day. You can learn more by browsing the blog. I hope you’ll find more compelling reasons here to join and support the work.
See tomorrow’s sightline posts (9/16): http://daily.sightline.org/
Has anybody looked at who makes up the panel. Three out of the five are associated with passenger only ferries. They are as qualified as the general manager of Key arena to evaluate the interaction of vehicles and bicycles. The other two carry primarily summer time recreational bicyclists, do they even understand or value year around commuter culture. You have to wonder their comprehension when they make non-sensical statements like “avoids the need for bicyclists to move through the car deck with their bikes in order to get to the front ”. If that’s the case, how are bicycles suppose to get “off” the ferry.
One has to wonder if the goal of WSF is to make it safer for bicyclists or reduce their population over all? Is this how we are going to encourage alternate forms of transportation? It seems like we have unqualified people making arbitrary decisions not based on any factual data. Shame on you WSF.
Having lived on Vashon for about 6 years, it has become quite clear that WSF is in the business of moving cars, and anything not in a car is more or less perceived as a nuisance. Sure, the PR is all about equal access, but the daily attitude and general behavior is not. The catastrophic inefficiency of their Vashon PO ferry operation may have just been incompetence, or maybe just a “if we run it bad enough, it will get the axe”. Thankfully King County is now running a substantially better service with less money…the county is focused on moving PEOPLE to their destinations.
I’m not at all optimistic that WSF will ever turn around to prioritize moving people over vehicles. Every concession to non-motor vehicle traffic has and will continue to require arm-twisting, and constant vigilance to preserve what concessions exist.
I should add that I’m sure there are people within WSF who are truly dedicated to the notion of moving people, but they just don’t have a powerful enough voice in the institution.
[...] forward to this week. A report by Washington State Ferries gets Seattle bike bloggers of all stripes up in arms. The report reads… WSF is seeking ways to expedite loading operations for several [...]
This is not an anti bike thing. This is about how to improve load/unload times. I live on San Juan island and have watched for most of my life what a problem a large group of bikes can cause when they leave the ferry, ride up the hill through down town, ride 4+ abreast, ride through the stop signs. There is no room here for bike lanes. Yeah, we all know biking is great, I have been riding all my life, have done multiple STP’s, and care about our rights as riders. Last weekend the Tri-Island Trek was here and caused a large mess when unloading the ferry. Maybe it should be based on the number of riders in line, 5-15, no problem. 200, problem. WSF has a problem with slow turnaround time in Friday Harbor, so much, that it can effect how many runs we can have per day. What is the real problem with being last off??? All the RV’s, trucks and cars will be out of your way and not crowding you as you get started and the ferry can reload faster.
As a daily bicycle commuter, thank you David and Cascade for supporting us. Like all commuters we struggle to minimize our daily commute times, particularly in the depths of winter when it is tough enough out there just to ride. Aside from the triple bottom line benefits of cycling, one of the critical things to understand is that the bicyclists appear to be the fastest per-person group to load and unload; it is the cars that are the least efficient and impede the bicycles and motorcycles, at least on the Bainbridge run.
The current loading system has been in place and functioning reasonably well for a long time. The current policy was the result of hard work and negotiations in good faith between cyclists and WSF who understand the issues intimately and professionally. The panel showed no deference for this work nor any real understanding of the reasons for it. Notably one of the other observations of the panel was that the WSF suffers from too much oversight. The bicycle last on/off recommendation, although for an experiment, appears to be the Panel violating one of its own concerns by trying to micro-manage WSF, and worse, with respect to something about which the Panel has no depth of understanding nor the professional credentials to address. Unfortunately much of the rest of the report appears, at best, pretty weak as well. I certainly hope we did not spend much on it or put much stock in its recommendations.
I don’t care to comment on the merits of the environmental arguments or the unsupported safety assertions by WSF but I will share my experience as three year all season bike commuter on the Bainbridge run.
For me – first on/first off on the way back from Seattle means is very important and is one of the main reasons why I bike on the ferry in the first place. Last off on the way home can mean up to 20 or 30 minutes longer commute home. It sometimes means the difference between dinner with my family or a re-heated plate. First off means I beat the bus home and helps motivate me to ride. I don’t ask for special privileges but if I get to the ferry terminal before loading start I would like to load ahead of others who arrive later. This is the same ‘privilege’ motorcycles enjoy.
In my experience delays are caused by traffic lights on both the Bainbridge and Seattle side. Bikes, even off first, line up with cars at lights on both sides. I can’t see how getting cars to the stop lights faster would make any real difference in the off load time. A better way to address this might be adjusting light times to allow for longer greens for lights stoping ferry traffic. If WSF was to work with the various police departments for better traffic management then there might be an argument made to holding bikes to allow for all the cars to get out first. If the objective is to decrease the overall off load time addressing light timing might be a better solution.
WSF arguments for the mates ability to better manage space for bikes is spurious at best. The only time I have ever witness, or been forced to my self, move my bike through car lanes on a full ferry is when I have loaded last and the Mate has squeezed every last car onto the boat as possible. Granted – I have been the last car on many times and am grateful for the Mate’s efforts. However, there is not room enough to squeeze 200+ bikes on the back end of a boat with out forcing bikers to carry their bikes down the narrow lanes between cars. Half that number is a challenge. today, for example, I counted 67 bikes on the last load of the 5:30 ferry. I carried my bike over my head to find a free spot. I would think that having more space not less would make the Mate’s management job much easier.
Last I will comment on bikers responsibilities for following the rules of the road and not endangering their own or others safety. There is a bike lane on the Bainbridge side. Yes it is not a direct route but it is not an unreasonable detour. I would argue a reasonable quick biker can cover the extra distance in the same time they would have spent waiting for one, possible two traffic lights. I use this occasionally but I prefer another alternative, one recommended by the Bainbridge Squeaky Wheels. That is, stay to the right, turn right thought the parking lot of the real estate office just before the police station and rejoin Winslow (on the provided bike lane). I do this every day – most days I get on through the light on Winslow before many bikers who came directly. This is a fully legal, safe and sometimes faster route then the nail biter yellow lane hugging route many of my biking friends choose. I think if bikers would adopt these alternative routes the safety concerns of WSF would be addressed.
I enjoy biking for many reasons other than where and when I get on the ferry and I wont stop biking if the rules change. However I will feel disappointed that once again policy was changed to keep cars in primacy over all other modes of transportation.
The main argument of the finding has to do with improving safety at any cost to load time. My comments on that:
- Bikes starting behind cars will create far more mingling of bikes and cars as they come off.
- 100-200 bikes loading on the back will create loading hazards unless substantially less cars are allowed on
- Use of the bike lane on bainbridge could be enforced without anyone complaining
- Cars could be made to wait longer before following the bikes off (safety at any cost !)
“Bikes are also slower than cars”
Someone should really let the bike messenger industry know about this!
In all seriousness, how about a policy tailor-made for where you are offloading. When going into seattle for example, bikes are faster. When offloading up a long hill (bainbridge), bikes could still go first but should use the bike lane off to the left.
The more transportation facilities are inconvenient to cyclists, the less cyclists will use them. Then if these commuters become drivers, what are the advantages to other ferry service users if there are more drivers? The consequences of changing policy to favor drivers is an invisible consequence which is easy to ignore.
Then there’s a ton of annoyed and anxious drivers, like Herb above, that can point their finger at specific things–some cyclists delaying ferry traffic or not stopping at stop signs–but no driver can point the finger at other drivers being the problem, can they? And if people have an strong emotional reaction, doesn’t that justify their perception? Not really, as the role of government is to quantify and address the overall problem. But politics seems to simply play to people’s emotional side and politics won in this instance.
I think it is stupid to load the bikes last for many reasons. The problem is cyclists don’t obey any of the laws and they have a elitist attitude toward everyone else, this causes drivers to hate cyclists which gives us issues like we are seeing now. CBC should spend some time getting cyclists to stop acting like idiots and they wouldn’t need to fight these fights. Anyone who disagrees with me seriously needs to have a reality check; go watch the bicycles get off the 6:20 boat in seattle and the 4:40 boat on bainbridge. Watch the bicycles weaving in and out of cars, taking sidewalks, running stop signs and red lights, cutting accross 4 lanes of traffic, riding down the middle of the road or the wrong side of the road, blocking traffic, cutting off cars, honestly, watch the stupidity, and pull your head out of the sand long enough to think about it from the point of view of a normal driver and see how drivers see cyclists, then tell me that the problem is the ferry system trying to screw us rather than us screwing ourselves. It’s not us vs. them, it’s us vs. us in my opinion.
@Commuter: We do our best in terms of bicycle education, and offer some excellent training opportunities for riders of all skill levels: http://cbcef.org/classes-bike.html
The issue, however, is often that riders feel that
a) they aren’t doing anything wrong and
b) they have nothing new to learn.
A quick read through the comments over here will show you that: http://blog.cascade.org/2010/09/dear-fellow-cyclists/
What you’re asking for is enforcement, which we fully support but cannot employ. Of course, no one WANTS to have a police crackdown, but what do you think it will take to have riders respect the rules of the road?
One last note, I disagree with your blanket statement: “cyclists don’t obey any of the laws and they have a elitist attitude toward everyone else.” That’s simply not true, and I don’t need to watch a ferry unload to disprove it. Every day I see law-abiding cyclists who appear to have no particular attitude toward anyone else.
[...] has been said around these parts lately about who the streets belong to, whether there’s a place for bicyclists in our transportation system and whether they are paying their fair share. Today, we [...]
Consider this: taxes.
Ferries are funded by gas taxes (5 cents per gallon) and other methods. If Bike commuters want preferential treatment, their fare should go up, or their taxes.
Otherwise, they are in the way of paying clients.
[...] forward to this week. A report by Washington State Ferries gets Seattle bike bloggers of all stripes up in arms. The report reads… WSF is seeking ways to expedite loading operations for several [...]
I know this is now a very old string, but …I read thru all the posts and thought it was an intelligent and mostly respectful, if spirited, conversation. I don’t often find that on line, and think it speaks well of cyclists. So, If any of you come back to update, thanks.
[...] forward to this week. A report by Washington State Ferries gets Seattle bike bloggers of all stripes up in arms. The report reads… WSF is seeking ways to expedite loading operations for several [...]