Here is something from a free e-mail circulation general harbor information service. It is quite an eye-opener. ------------------- WATERWIRE, March 16, 2000 O FERRY SERVICE KEEPS ON GROWING As the state of New York ponders a replacement for the Tappan Zee bridge (expected to cost anywhere from $1.1 to as much as $4 billion), ferry travel in the metropolitan area is growing every year. >From 1986, when private ferry transportation returned to the region, to the year 2000 when more than 20 different lines criss-cross the waterways, almost 30 million ferry trips are taken annually. Now another line is springing up, this time in Hoboken at the development known as The Shipyard, a combination condominium/ rental development in the northern part of town. To help promote this burgeoning transit alternative, the Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance is exploring the feasibility of an expanded ferry network for the region, currently focusing on an area called the "Harbor Loop," a/k/a the Inner Harbor or Upper Bay. The Harbor Loop is currently defined as the area south of the Brooklyn Bridge, north of the Verrazano, east of the Bayonne Bridge, and south of a line drawn across the Hudson between Exchange Place in Jersey City and the World Financial Center in New York. A six-month reconnaissance in 1999 identified 24 potential ferry stops in Jersey City, Bayonne, Staten Island, Brooklyn and Lower Manhattan. This list included sites such as the proposed Brooklyn Bridge Park and the Military Ocean Terminal in Bayonne. In addition to areas now being revitalized such as Red Hook, the Harbor Loop also includes sites such as Stapleton/ Homeport in Staten Island and Sunset Park that are currently poorly served by other forms of transportation. Existing or coming attractions such as Liberty State Park, Historic Battery Park, the National Lighthouse Museum and the golf course on Constable Hook are also being explored. Surveys to local property owners, government agencies, elected officials, and waterfront institutions were sent out earlier this year, and preliminary results are expected as early as next month. For more information on the Harbor Loop ferry study contact Project Manager Carter Craft at carter_at_waterwire.net or call 800-364-9943. --------------- Such alternate transportation is great but it means that kayakers have to be a lot more savvy, prepared and alert. ralph diaz -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Ralph Diaz . . . Folding Kayaker newsletter PO Box 0754, New York, NY 10024 Tel: 212-724-5069; E-mail: rdiaz_at_ix.netcom.com "Where's your sea kayak?"----"It's in the bag." ----------------------------------------------------------------------- *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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