Tag Archives: WSF

Waterfront Park planning continues Sunday

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Planning for a revamped Waterfront Park will continue Sunday with a second community workshop. The event runs 1:30-4:30 p.m. at Waterfront Park Community Center. Islanders can join a walking tour of the park and dock at 1 p.m.

The city and Sustainable Bainbridge launched the planning effort with a well attended community meeting June 1. Prolific walkable communities consultant Dan Burden helped guide the conversation. Participants brainstormed ideas for the park and voted on their favorite design elements (you can see the voting results here).

Sunday’s workshop will include presentations from specific user groups. Bainbridge Island Rowing has a proposal for a new boathouse. The city’s advisory Harbor Commission is promoting designs for an expanded city dock.

The city dedicated $1.8 million of a Washington State Ferries settlement to reinvigorating the downtown park and will seek additional grants. A request for qualifications from design firms was recently issued for the project.

 

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Meet the city manager, talk ferries in Winslow tonight

Civic-minded islanders have a busy dance card tonight. They can choose between a potluck and discussion with new City Manager Doug Schulze or a Washington State Ferries community meeting.

Discussion group VillageSpeak will hold a dinner forum with Schulze beginning at 6:30

p.m. at OfficeXpats in the Bainbridge Pavilion. The conversation will include opening remarks by the city manager, a moderated discussion and a Q&A session with the audience.

The event is free but attendees are encouraged to bring a dish to share and a $5 donation. A standing reception will follow the discussion at 8:30 p.m. Schulze (pictured) joined the city on Nov. 5. He previously served as manager of Normandy Park.

Another meeting will take place across town at the same time. WSF brings its traveling community outreach tour to Bainbridge at 6 p.m. in the Art Museum.

Ferries chief David Moseley will discuss the upcoming legislative session, staffing issues and other topics. This is a good time for ferry riders to bring forward questions and complaints. WSF already held a meeting in Bremerton, where proposed service cuts are a hot topic.

Tad Sooter photos

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WSF mulling options for taxis at Bainbridge terminal

As we reported earlier this month, the Bainbridge City Council wants Washington State Ferries to consider moving the taxi waiting area away from the front entrance of the Bainbridge terminal.

WSF is taking the request seriously.

Ferries director David Moseley plans to meet with city representatives to discuss congestion at the terminal, WSF spokeswoman Marta Coursey said in an email Tuesday. Coursey said ferry planners are evaluating a few options to share with the city.

The council asked WSF to consider relocating the taxi waiting area after hearing from islanders who said it was difficult to load and unload at the terminal. Taxis, shuttle buses and private vehicles share a narrow lane north of the building. Traffic crawls through the  zone during busy commuter hours and taxis queuing along the curb outside the entrance make it tricky to drop off walk-on passengers near the door.

“It’s something that I consider to be an obvious issue,” Councilwoman Kirsten Hytopoulos said Aug. 16. “I mean, I don’t know where we’re supposed to park to pick up our grandmas.”

You can read a draft of the city’s letter to WSF here.

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