Ferry Service
Dear Editor: The story of Southeast Alaskan communities coming together in the late 1950s to advocate for the creation of the Alaska Marine Highway System is a remarkable one. As Southeast Conference meets in Petersburg this week, I hope that the group will build on this remarkable legacy by advancing forward-thinking ideas about how to run the system more efficiently while also continuing to advocate for the basics.
We won’t have any marine highway if we don’t have vessels. By 2024 we are scheduled to lose three of our ferries to old age – the Matanuska, Malaspina, and Taku. It takes years to design new vessels, and even longer to build them. The State of Alaska needs to make this its top transportation investment priority for the region now, if we want to have any type of ferry service in the future. It’s time again for Southeast Alaskan communities to join together to support our marine highway system.
Karen Wilson, Tenakee Springs
