Backers say the sales tax hike would

cut down on cross-island automobile traffic.

Bobbing on a boat outside the Bremerton Ferry Terminal, supporters of “Fast Ferries Now” Monday launched a campaign to expand foot ferry service between Kitsap County and Seattle.

On hand among the 15 or so passengers was Port Orchard Mayor Kim Abel, who sits at the helm of one of four communities – Kingston, Bremerton and Southworth are the others – slated for service should voters approve a three-tenths of a cent sales tax increase that would fund the plan.

“At least all this rain has made the ground softer,” Abel joked, as the group surveyed bundles of campaign signs, ready for soupy front yards around the county.

Some Bainbridge Islanders are joining the campaign for Proposition 1, to be decided by Kitsap County voters on Feb. 6. Ballots for the all-mail election will go out next week.

What’s in it for Bainbridge, since the island would not see foot ferry service of its own?

Just up the road from the yard of islander Wini Jones lies state Route 305, a spot where she says there are more than enough signs that something needs to be done about cross-island traffic.

“I’ve seen a huge increase in the number of cars coming on and off the island in just the last three or four years,” Jones said, adding that traffic seemed to lessen during the most recent experiment with foot ferries between Kingston and downtown Seattle.

“I couldn’t quantify the difference,” she said, “but I noticed it.”

If it passes, Proposition 1 would allow Kitsap Transit to restore foot-ferry service that has yet to take hold in Kitsap County despite numerous attempts.

Aboard faster, more fuel-efficient vessels than those formerly operated by Washington State Ferries, commuters would cut crossing times between Bremerton and Seattle in half.

Several boats of two different sizes – one holding 149 passengers, the other holding 80 – would be subsidized by Kitsap Transit and operated by a private company.

Though Bainbridge isn’t part of the plan, which would connect Bremerton, Kingston, Port Orchard and Southworth with downtown Seattle, proponents argue that the outcome of the vote will have major impacts on automobile traffic throughout the county.

Most notably, said Kitsap Transit Executive Director Richard Hayes, would be the diversion of traffic from Bainbridge as a result of passenger-only ferry service from Kingston.

“This would pull people off the highway and off the Bainbridge ferry,” Hayes said, noting that many off-island residents would have a shorter commute to Kingston than they do now to Bainbridge. “It’s important for congestion. It would also save hundreds of thousands of gallons of fuel, which is something that resonates with people on Bainbridge.”

Whatever the reasons, Hayes said Bainbridge and Kingston have in the past been the biggest supporters of passenger-only ferries in Kitsap County.

In 2003, a majority of Bainbridge islanders voted for similar measure that failed, earning just 38 percent overall at the polls. Meanwhile, the state has said it won’t pursue foot ferries, and private outfits haven’t yet shown the ability to sustain themselves.

Mayor Darlene Kordonowy is among the local supporters who have been disappointed by the failures of previous efforts.

“If Washington State Ferries is not going to provide this service, then we need to step up as a county and support it,” Kordonowy said. “For the long-term management of auto traffic on Bainbridge Island, this is critical.”

Under a partial subsidy from Kitsap Transit, private operator Kitsap Ferry Company already offers passenger-only ferry service between Bremerton and Port Orchard.

If Proposition 1 passes, the company would expand its service to include the new runs. Service between Bremerton and Seattle would begin within four months and expand to Kingston-Seattle by the end of the year.

Port Orchard and Southworth runs would still be two to four years off, Hayes said.

New boats, specially designed to sustain higher speeds than previous ferries without causing wake damage to surrounding shorelines, would run up to eight times daily. Later on, up to 12 trips could be made daily.

Hayes said no formal opposition to the current measure has yet emerged, though cost and growth issues will likely be contentious. He expects the vote to be close and said a heavy dose of campaigning will be necessary.

Hence Monday’s kick-off party, at which gathered a handful of transportation and city officials from across the county.

Following the endorsement of the measure by the Kitsap County Commissioners earlier in the day, the mood was jovial.

The Port Orchard City Council was slated to discuss the plan formally and possibly endorse it Monday night; the Bremerton and Bainbridge city councils have similar plans.

As the election nears, the Kingston-based Fast Ferries Now group will ramp up campaign efforts, which will include newspaper ads, literature distribution and sign-waiving at terminals and intersections.

Hayes said Proposition 1 could be the first step in a series of changes to the county’s transportation network, which he admits is lagging behind its growing population.

“We’re behind everyone,” Hayes said. “I think we’re headed for a regional transportation system that looks more urban. We need better connections between buses and ferries and better options to get to Seattle.”

If successful, Hayes said, foot-ferry service could possibly extend to Bainbridge Island. He cited at least two possible future routes, one connecting the Bainbridge ferry terminal to Eagledale, and another connecting Lynwood Center to the Kitsap Peninsula.

Kitsap County Commissioner Chris Endreson of Poulsbo said she would like to see the eventual return of the “mosquito fleet,” the small steam-powered ferries that once shuttled islanders around Puget Sound. In assessing the current measure, Endreson said she was confident Bainbridge voters would support better connectivity.

“It means reduced traffic on 305 on the island, it means and alternative route for Bremerton commuters and Kingston commuters to get to Seattle,” she said. “Hopefully it would take some pressure off of parking in downtown Bainbridge.

“And I think passenger ferry service is better for the environment in the long-term when we look at more people needing to get more places.”

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Fast facts

Proposition 1 would mean a three-tenths of a cent sales tax increase in Kitsap County to fund foot ferries service between the Kitsap Peninsula and Seattle. No formal opposition to the proposal has emerged.