The push to bring ferry service to Portland is on its last legs
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Backers of the Frog Ferry are hoping to start a pilot project of the service within a few years. Photo: Maranie Staab/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Proponents of an effort to bring water transit to Portland are hoping for a last-minute infusion of cash to keep their plan afloat — otherwise, they say, ferry service on the Willamette will be sunk.
Why it matters: Backers of the Frog Ferry hail the service as a low-cost, environmentally friendly alternative to traffic-clogged freeways, but the idea has failed for years to get the backing it needs to launch a pilot project.
- Backers say unless they're able to secure funding and dock space this year, their effort to bring ferries to Portland will be over.
What they're saying: "We know what it will do, not only for the community, but for the planet," Jennifer Schloming, secretary of the board at Friends of Frog Ferry, told Axios. "We have to act."
The big picture: Those behind the project envision a future where electric passenger ferry service runs from Vancouver to Oregon City.
- Tickets would cost around $5 and the average trip between Vancouver and downtown would be around 45 minutes.
Zoom in: The organization is looking to start smaller with a two-stop pilot project running between Cathedral Park and the South Waterfront.
- They need $20 million in funding and agreements with the city to allow them to use docks at both locations.
- They've requested $10 million from the Legislature as part of a larger transportation package and are applying for a $10 million grant through the Portland Clean Energy Fund.
- State Sen. Bruce Starr, the Republican vice chair of the Joint Committee on Transportation, told Axios he supports the funding request, though that's no guarantee it will be included in the final transportation bill.
"Virtually every major city with [or] on major waterways utilize the asset to move people," he said in an email. "Portland should do the same."
- Majority Democrats on the committee did not immediately respond to questions on whether they are considering the funding request.
Yes, but: The idea of bringing ferry service to Portland has been around for years and has yet to gain the backing it needs to move forward.
- Schloming told Axios that the previous iteration of the City Council never took the proposal seriously and that the new crop of city leaders has had significant fiscal issues to deal with: "So making the case for innovation as important — it's hard."
- Councilor Angelita Morillo, who sits on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, said that she was open to the idea of ferry service in Portland but that there were more pressing issues in the city.
- "Portland simply can't afford a project like this right now when our priority needs to be maintaining our crumbling infrastructure," she told Axios.
Plus: Statewide funds are similarly stretched, with legislators looking to fill a hole in the bucket of money — transportation funding — the ferry would need to draw from.
What's next: The transportation package is expected to be finalized by the end of the legislative session in late June, with city funding expected to be decided by the fall.