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At a public listening
session on Tuesday, Feb. 19, from 6-8 p.m., the Clackamas County Board of
Commissioners hopes to hear comments and ideas from the public on whether
to keep the Canby Ferry operating and, if so, how to reduce the funding
gap.
The meeting will
be held at the Canby Foursquare Church, 2350 SE Territorial Road in Canby.
The discussion is
coming on the heels of a year-long feasibility study of options for
crossing the Willamette River at the location of the Canby Ferry. The
findings were reported to the public on Jan. 15 and to the Clackamas County
Board of Commissioners on Jan. 30.
The study, which
was prompted by the fact that the Ferry is expensive to operate, looked at
three major options:
·
Continuing
current ferry operations
·
Closing
the ferry
·
Building
a toll bridge
At a Jan. 30
planning session, the Board agreed to take the idea of a bridge “off the
table” in light of strong public opposition,
As Board Chair Jim
Bernard explained, “We’re not going to consider a bridge, but the status
quo is also not an option. We need to explore other alternatives.”
Commissioner Paul
Savas noted that options were raised by members of the public at the Jan.
15 meeting, including a local taxing district, and he’s looking forward to
hearing more about them and other possibilities. But, he said, “We
need to let the public know that continuing long-term with the status quo
is not an option.”
It costs the
county an average of $400,000 each year to operate the ferry, and the
ridership averages only 200 passengers per day. The ferry cannot
operate when the river level is above 70 feet or during inclement
weather. It costs motorists $5 per vehicle for a one-time, one-way
trip, although a 20-trip punch card can be purchased for $60.
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