JUNEAU — Limited options for ferry scheduling left some Alaska lawmakers and staffers without their cars for the first days of the legislative session.
The schedule resulted in cross-Gulf ferries coming to Juneau either 11 days before the start of session, or three days after session started. The issue reflected the difficulty that many lawmakers face each year in getting to Juneau, a community accessible only by air or water.
Frustrations came to the forefront during a Legislative Council meeting this week. House Speaker Mike Chenault, who spoke to the issue, said Friday that it was just a matter of bad timing. Lawmakers generally prefer to have the ferry come a week before session.
“We need to do better at making sure that the ferry sails at a convenient time to get the legislators, not only their cars but a number of legislators and staff ride the ferry down,” he said. “And when we leave, I expect, you know, the ferry should be scheduled for a few days after the session’s over so people can get their household goods and things packed up and put in their vehicles to be shipped back.”
House and Senate leadership suggested dates for the ferries to come to Juneau. But state transportation department spokeswoman Brenda Hewitt said the ferries do not run just for legislators — a point Chenault acknowledged — but she said the system tries to accommodate lawmakers within the existing schedule.
One ferry, the Tustumena, is out for scheduled maintenance, and the ferry that was used, the Kennicott, not only fills in for the Tustumena but also does cross-Gulf runs every other week, said Michael Neussl, deputy commissioner of marine operations for the transportation department.
Neussl said the system tries for schedules that have the same ferries in the same ports at the same time of day. This provides a measure of predictability in communities that use the system.
Hewitt said efforts were made to provide runs as close as possible to the session “without messing up everyone else along the route.”
Hewitt said 50 vehicles were on the ferry that left Whittier Jan. 5 for Juneau and 21 were on the ferry that left Thursday. That boat was due Friday at Auke Bay, near Juneau.
Sen. Bill Wielechowski, D-Anchorage, said that he didn’t have his car yet by Friday morning. He laughed when asked if that was a pain: “I don’t have a car, to the extent that’s inconvenient. I have a lot of things in my car, clothes and things. I’m getting by.”
Rep. Bob Lynn, R-Anchorage, said he and his wife put one of their two cars on the early ferry, and an aide parked it in her driveway until the Lynns flew to Juneau last weekend.
“It’s an inconvenient schedule but I guess we knew the risk, the aggravation getting to Juneau with the ferry,” he said. However, “of all the aggravations in my life, this is pretty far down the list. We have more important things to deal with this session, I think. I don’t want to make a mountain out of a mole hill.”
Comments (28)
Add commentBuild the road!
Sounds like a possible excuse to introduce legislation to move the capital for the convenience of legislators.
Maybe ?
Here's an idea, maybe they should get off there BUTT'S an do something about it , like a road or new boats, more better boats, DUH , instead of sittin on there hands!
Ferry
Or they could just store another car in Juneau, or maybe use public transit. Fire congress.
chechako"s
Oh my! my! my! and we are sooo special,
if i remember corectly you folks are supposed to be doing the peoples work not crying like a cheechak"o
You of all people know the difficuties of southeast travel and still all these years of trying to be a representative!You still dont get it?
Upgrade the Ferry system ,Add the road all the way to Skagway,Take a plane or maybe just plain quit cryin like a chechak"o
Ha ha ha but you will still have to go throught the Canadian land of lore;---)Enjoy your short stay in juneau,hopefully you will get someting practical DONE!!
Take the trip!
Legislators should be forced to ride the ferry with their cars to get a better understanding of all the benefits of the Alaska Marine Highway.
The close of the article said it all.
It's pretty far down the list of problems. A little inconvienence. Ya know...we are aware of the annual surge...could we re-schedule just a little bit to accomidate? I am not a fan of privatization but this is one example where the private sector would do better. They would be sensitive to the needs of their customers.....and create some special sailings.
This is a good thing
It reminds all of those Railbelt legislators that a lot of Alaskans live in remote places that aren't serviced by roads, and sometimes that leads to a bit of inconvenience when the weather doesn't cooperate or there's a breakdown.
That's why holding session outside of Los Anchorage is healthy for the state.
barnardj1
Chenault also threw a hissy fit because the alaska flag song mentions natives! Definitely shallow end of the gene pool.
They should just take into
They should just take into consideration that inconveniences of this nature are part of the charm, challenge and adventure of living in Alaska. Being able to laugh in the face of these kind of difficulties is part of what separates true Alaskans from those pantywaists in The Lower 48.
Language Nazis
at it again eh
what
Guess you folks couldnt handle a little CHECHK'O
ribb,poor poor things!
Leadership skills.
or statesmanship, isn't the first thing that comes to my mind when you mention House Speaker Chenault....
Sad
The comments here are shameful. We are the capital. The fact that it is unnecessarily difficult for Alaskans to come here is disgraceful. No wonder people want to move the capital.
Of course the ferry should accomodate the schedule and make it safer and easier for legislators and staff to come to the capital.
I just hope they realize that most of us appreciate what they do and appreciate them traveling to our city. I hope the ferry does a better job in the future.
Or if they purchased the
Or if they purchased the Alakai or Huakai from the Maritime Association we could have a bit more frequent & reliable service. If the boats could handle the surf in Hawai'i they can probably handle ours up here!
300 cars + 800 people at a time and a transit time of 12 hours vs 2 days.....
@Concerned
Reread the article.
The Kennicott is covering for the Tustumena. So if it was diverted to save the legislators a little bit of inconvenience getting their personal cars here, the residents of places like Kodiak would be seriously inconvenienced in their lives and businesses.
Mike Neussl made the right call. Legislators' convenience shouldn't outweigh ordinary citizens' needs.
This is a setup
This article seems like a setup to encourage divisiveness between Anchorage and Southeast. Don't be drawn in.
Most of the legislators understand our unique state and are not "irked."
We should not let "made up news" draw us in.
Let's keep our eye on the ball and our energies toward progress in our state, not regression.
poor babbies
Wow legislators are unhappy campers becasue things like natural weather conditions and mechanical problems affected them as if they were just mere mortals. It must be horrible to have to be one of the masses rather than some elite class of special people.
I'm already seeing a reason to justify another special item for legislators as they find ways to bilk the system. I can see special funding to have their cars flown into Juneau and then back home. Or maybe a fleet of legislative cars provided by the State for their use in
Juneau.
lighten up concerned, good lord
I did not get that the legislators were overly unhappy, just a bit frustrated, thats normal. I also agree that here in Juneau we need to work harder to make things easier for them especially travel stuff.
I have no problem with that.
entitled whiners
Go figure... Can't plan for their 90 day party? Gee maybe they'll ask for calm seas to go with their personal ferry.
Reality sets in for the "elite"
Apparently our legs are so convinced of their status as Special People that they think the ferry schedules & probably most of the rest of the world's activities should be arranged especially for their convenience. How about taking into account the rest of users? If they want more convenient schedules they could fund the ferries sufficiently to provide better service for us all, which might include their needs, too. Legislative support of funding for ferries has always been pretty lukewarm, to say the least. What goes around comes around, as they say.
@concernedI
I take it that the sky is still falling in your neighborhood?
Psst....it's snow!
I got an idea!
Why don't we build a road?
Great
Great comments , I love it when the leg's get slammed .
The legislators from
The legislators from Anchorage and the interior are poor excuses for Alaskans. They seem to have no concept that inconveniences of this nature are part of the charm, challenge and adventure of living in Alaska. What a bunch of spoiled crybabies.
ferry schedules
The schedules are changed often at the last minute, to accomodate memorial services and events in the villages. They are adjusted around events such as Gold Medal. There's no reason they couldn't have made an adjustment for the legislature, close to 100 people coming from the interior.
Perhaps the legislature can see this as a view on how much many areas of the state rely on the blue canoes, and can work on updating our fleet. Most of it was scheduled for decommissioning years ago.
New Ferries.
Its time to get new ferries. Now the legislature gets to experience how inconvenient it can be for small towns. They are whining over the little stuff like their vehicles. chuckles.
Its time to move the capital up north to modernization. Juneau is just a little big town with nuthin in it so why keep the capital there? Well, back to the subject of the ferry I hope they get a big enough band aid on the ferry to run another year.
I dont see why they're
I dont see why they're whining. According to them they would just need to stretch out thier arm and calm the seas. A selfish, arrogant bunch they are.
Why dont they just pocket thier bribes and do as thier puppet masters instruct them to, quit whining, and run home afterwards like the little whining dogs they are.
Its not fair to blame um
Come on Juneau! Who's being spoiled and grumpy here? Lets face it...we dont care for inconvienence either. If they can reschedule ferries for events and gold medal why cant we accomidate a couple times a year?
Our airport transportation is really lousy and forget it if you need a lift from the ferry terminal. Its a dog-gone expensive cab ride. Can we say unwelcome in any louder terms? Would it really hurt to work something out?
It's only tough if you don't WANT to cooperate....
and dear Legislators....
You could show Juneau and SE Alaska a little love too. Instead of griping yourselves..how about some $upport for the AMH and SE AK
dp
dp