SEATTLE - Water taxis across Lake Washington will have to wait. For a while, it seemed there was progress in honing in on potential launching and landing points on the lake, but now those plans are on hold.
Water taxis, often referred to as the "Mosquito Fleet," used to ply the waters of Lake Washington more than 100 years ago. With Highway 520 tolls and construction on the horizon, it seemed like now would be the perfect time to bring back a commuting alternative. But it turns out the money to create a new fleet is just not there.
The West Seattle water taxi has been a shining success for the King County Ferry District. The 2009 summer run reached a record ridership of almost 200,000 people. The hope was that a similar option could be offered to people who commute across Lake Washington as early as next year.
"Our original plan had been to do what we're calling 'demonstration service' on Lake Washington," explained Kjristine Lund, general manager of the King County Ferry District. "We were looking at a few routes as our starter routes."
Studies had been completed and communities contacted. Potential docks in Madison Park and Leschi had recently been ruled out, and service seemed likely to launch from Kenmore, Renton, and possibly Kirkland that would have landed commuters near the University of Washington.
But now, with the county budget in disarray, the King County Ferry District decided to use their pared down finances for the existing water taxis on the Puget Sound, which means foot ferries across Lake Washington will have to wait. Lund says her best guess is that they could launch some time between the years 2012 and 2014. She says the silver lining is that the extra time will give the ferry district more time to get the water taxis right.
"So we have some education to do. We have some research to do on technology. That's going to make the most sense," she said. "And on the land side, folks are concerned about parking in their communities."
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