Boston Harbor Now Director of Water Transportation Alice Brown gave an update on two water transportation studies at the November Wharf District Council meeting.
Boston Harbor Now (BHN) is currently completing two studies to better serve the needs of the current and future customer base.
- Comprehensive Boston Harbor Water Transportation Study and Business Plans: Plans for up to three financially sustainable ferry services that can be launched in one to five years.
- Water Transportation Strategy for the Boston Harbor Islands National and State Park: A request for information (RFI) and request for proposal (RFP) to procure a ferry service operator for the Harbor islands in 2019 and beyond.
To gather information, BHN held a stakeholder workshop, an open house and a stated preference survey. Preliminary takeaways show that Long Wharf was identified as the ferry stop with the highest demand. This information spurred the potential Inner Harbor Connector route shown below, with Charlestown, East Boston and the Seaport all connecting through Long Wharf.
The study results also show a need for a Quincy / Columbia Point route. This would promote water transit between the South Shore and Downtown, as well as serve individuals visiting the JFK library and UMASS Boston.
A third ferry route connecting Lovejoy Wharf to Fan Pier is still in process. The final results of the study are expected to be released in January 2019. Read more and see the draft reports on bostonharbornow.org.
Brown also answered questions about ferries that would transport guests to the new Encore casino in Everett. The city of Lynn has a business plan for this water transit. The casino is a private entity and will have a private dock. They have purchased three vessels with a 40-person capacity to transport to and from various docks in the Harbor when the casino opens in June 2019.
