This week I had initially planned to write about the some ROS concepts or maybe expressing some interest in the new computers Apple announced this week. But today I had to make an early morning trip from Seattle to Whidbey Island on one of the ferries which I hadn’t taken in quite a few years and thought it might be nice to reflect on.
Seattle is located between Lake Washington and Puget Sound which together make a number of natural obstacles that the city has been built around. Puget Sound runs from about 25 miles south of Seattle, to about 40 miles north where it meets the Salish Sea and the Straight of Georgia around the San Juan Islands. The ferry system has become its own sort of tourist attraction. People from visiting from out of town often will make crossings for the novelty and similarly, locals often make weekend trips to the peninsulas and islands via ferry.
But the ferries aren’t just a recreational curiosity. Thanks to development throughout the region on the west side of the sound and the islands, Seattle has relied on the ferries keep the region connected. A significant number of people in the area rely on the system as part of their daily commute and contractors frequently find themselves able to provide services throughout the Puget Sound region on a scale that wouldn’t be possible without the ferries. When I was a consultant, I worked on ongoing projects in Port Orchard, Bremerton, and Whidbey Island which were all easily serviceable thanks to the ferries. West across the sound from Seattle is Bainbridge Island where many people commute downtown for work and similarly people commute from Whidbey Island to Mukilteo, often to work north of Seattle at Boeing or their various contractors.
The ferries are an integral part of life around the Sound, but along with many other industries have been struck with labor shortages. In recent weeks the various crossings have all had to cut service by 30 to 50% each day. Fortunately for my trip today this was only a minor inconvenience since I was traveling counter to most morning commuters. We all hope that service may be returned to full capacity before long, but until then, with a little extra planning, crossing the Sound is still one of my favorite spots to catch the sunrise in town.
