It’s not a substitute for the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, but there is a new idea for boosting tourism without clogging roads: establishing passenger ferry service in 14 “baseline communities” in Calvert, Queen Anne’s, Somerset, St. Mary’s and Anne Arundel counties in Maryland.
The cities of Baltimore and Annapolis would be stops along the proposed routes which would crisscross the bay from Havre DeGrace to Crisfield.
The idea was pitched at the annual Maryland Association of Counties (MACO) conference in Ocean City.
“The bottom line up front is that it is feasible to have a passenger ferry system in the Chesapeake Bay,” said Kristen Pironis, executive director of Visit Annapolis and Anne Arundel County, in an interview with WTOP. She added that there’s still plenty of work to do before moving forward.
“The recommendation is for a public-private partnership, and that seems to make the most sense,” Pironis said. “(There are also) grant opportunities at the federal, state and local level.”
When asked when visitors might see ferry service become a reality, Pironis said she expects that the system will develop in pieces: “What I can say is Anne Arundel County put in a grant submission” to look at a first leg that would connect Kent Island, Baltimore and Annapolis.
“In one or two years, you might have a partial system. A year after that, you might be able to add to that,” she added.
Since the study began, Pironis said, “We’ve actually had — and this is really exciting — some interest from Virginia and Delaware to see what we might be able to add there.”
Pironis said the initial focus was on Maryland’s Chesapeake Bay, but, “to have outside interest, you really could start to picture how amazing this could be.”
Pironis was clear that the feasibility study was focused on tourism, not establishing a commuter service. But, she said, “I live in Queen Anne’s County and work in Annapolis. It would be an amazing way for me to commute.”
Before Marylanders stock up on Dramamine, or pick out their favorite maritime-themed outfits, there are a number of steps ahead. They include scheduling briefings in the communities featured in the plan and coming up with memorandums of understandings, outreach to existing ferry operators and developing a financial plan.
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